Sonic's Legacy: Volume 1: The Hero's Child
by StoryWolf
Summary: Sonic's daughter, Nikki, is to become the next defender of Mobius, but she still has a lot to learn before she's ready to take the torch. Facing tough challenges and being raised in a world virtually destroyed by Surge X, Eggman's latest creation, she still carries the same spirit (as well as the skills) her father had before her. But will that be enough to survive Surge's Army?
1. Chapter 1: Trapped

_**Sonic's Legacy: Volume 1; The Hero's Child**_

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Sonic or the characters from Sonic Team or Sega. Though some of these characters were created by me, the basic style and likeness of these characters originated from the creators of the Sonic comics and Sonic games, as well as the companies Sonic Team and Sega. Thank you and enjoy this unofficial story.

**Spoiler Warning:** If you haven't played the games or read the comics, there may be spoilers. Read at your own risk.

**Graphic Warning:** Some scenes in this story across all volumes may be disturbing to some readers…you have been warned.

Now before we start, I should clarify a few things. This story isn't entirely about Sonic. It's about his daughter, hence the name Sonic's Legacy. The story actually switches between different characters and the narrator for each part is listed at the beginning of each chapter, as well as when the point of view changes from one character to the next. Another thing, once you start reading, don't worry too much about what is going on, keep reading (you'll see why as you go along, you won't be disappointed in the end, I promise. I can't reveal too much without giving it away.)

Now, without further delay, here is Sonic's Legacy. Enjoy! :)

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_**Prologue:**_

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_...Time…_

_...everyone wishes they had more of it…_

_...We try to make it for the ones we care about…before we lose them forever…_

_...If they controlled it, they would go back and change things if they could, without even thinking of the consequences that may follow…_

_...I should have thought of those consequences before jumping head first into that portal…_

_...I couldn't help but think as I reached out to him…would I be doing the right thing…to see him…just once?…_

_It's amazing the things you remember…and the memories that you're not sure had been changed…forever._

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_**Chapter 1: Trapped**_

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_**Narrator: Sonica**_

_It was a dark stormy night on Mobius. The rain fell through the forest and created a beautiful melody of music. It was the perfect example of the calm before the war._

_A strong wind rushed through the forest at blinding speed. It was Sonic, the hero of Mobius. The blue hedgehog stopped on the cliff side, looking out at one of Eggman's laboratories. Sonic looked over at the sky and saw Tails in the X Tornado. Sonic nodded at him and rushed down the cliff side. He swiftly made it to the base and sneaked up on the first wave of robots. The hero made his strike on the first robot and as the rain continued to fall, he finished the others easily. As the rain slowed down, he made his way to the jail cells and freed all the captives._

_In his lab upstairs, Eggman was working on his latest invention that would soon be his last. His creation came to life and instead of listening to it's master, it raised it's hand and killed him._

_Sonic and the others heard his cry and looked at the tower. Sonic looked back at Tails. The fox understood and jumped back into the X Tornado as Sonic took off with lightning speed and rushed up the stairs._

_The blue hedgehog reached the top of the tower and came face to face with the terrifying sight. Sonic looked up at the murderous robot, Surge X. As the robot drew closer, Sonic rushed in for the attack and managed to get a hit on Surge. The fight ensued and it looked like Sonic was about to have the upper hand when Surge hit the self-destruct button on the control panel and the base was completely destroyed. No one saw Sonic after that…_

This all happened before I was born, but I have heard this story over and over again. I often dream about it, almost constantly…The day that the great hero sacrificed himself to save the world. That's easy for them to say…they're not his daughter.

I grew up with everyone expecting great things from me. I was even named after him! I know, "yikes"! I actually prefer to be called by my nicknames, Nikki or Sonica. I've been carrying this weight on my shoulders since I was two years old…when I first learned to run. My only problem…I didn't know how to stop. I always crashed into things. I wish I was as strong back then as I am now. I could've prevented the worst thing to happen since that day…Surge X's return.

I was only five years old. Surge X and his army called Exus came in and destroyed everything in their path. Now the rest of us that survived are living in bomb shelters and fortresses in the darkest corners of Mobius. Where did I end up?…the Stern Orphanage. That's right, I lost everything that day. My friends, my home, my…mother…everything I knew, gone.

I remember the first day I was brought there. You can imagine the looks I got. I had my father's fur color, although my hair had bangs in the front and two more spikes that draped down just behind my eyes. No one really bothered me at all. I think they were scared of me or something, I don't know why. I wasn't the only one that had a hard time there though.

There was my best friend, Jodi. She was a ferret and loved to read. In fact, she spent more time in the library than anywhere else. One day, a young grey wolf named Trace tried to pick on her.

I heard her cry behind me, "Stop it! Leave me alone!"

At the time, I hated getting in the middle of things. I tried to stay out of them as much as I could, but then Trace said something that I couldn't ignore.

"What are you going to do? Call Sonic to help you? I guess heroism doesn't carry to the next generation."

That was the last straw. I was right in front of Jodi in a split second. My blood was boiling as I stared Trace down.

"Say what you want about me…but of my father, don't even dare!"

Of course, Trace wasn't afraid at all. He just stared back at me and pushed me even further.

"How could you even defend someone you don't even know?"

Oh I so wanted to punch that kid, but I let myself relax and turned to Jodi and picked up one of her books. I heard his annoying voice behind me, but I sort of tuned it out.

"Don't turn your back on me!"

Jodi could see that Trace was actually coming in to punch me.

"Sonica!"

I saw him out of the corner of my eye and grabbed his fist in my hand. He was one year older than I was and even though physically he was stronger than me, I held him back.

"What?" Trace yelled as I pushed him away. "Why you-!"

He ran in to hit me again. Ha, that ended quickly. Just so you know, I didn't hurt the kid. I never threw a single punch. I simply dodged every hit that came my way. He tired himself out quickly and decided to just walk away.

_Finally he got the message, Jerk._

No one could really blame him though. He went through the same thing we all did, he was just grieving in a different way. I really should thank him though, because thanks to him…I found what was hiding inside myself.

As three years went by, Jodi and I became best friends while Trace and I completely hated each other. Jodi was the sister I never had. Also, by using her knowledge in math and science, she helped me figure out how to spin without making myself sick…or crashing into the janitor's closet. Thank you, Jodi!

Everything was…okay there…I guess. There was one thing that drove me absolutely nuts…the walls. I couldn't stand the thought of being cooped up. All I wanted was to jump over one of those four walls and see what was on the other side, even beyond that. Then one day, I had my chance…

I awoke from that same damn nightmare with a start. Once I realized it, I simply just brushed my bangs away from my face. This happened so often…I was used to it by now.

"It's always the same one…about him…why me?" I sighed.

I was at the one place where I could think in that insane place…the roof. I don't know why, but I always loved it up there. I guess it was the wind brushing by me that I loved so much.

As I started to fully awaken, I looked at the fog covered sky. "The sky's as grey as ever. Maybe a hint of…naw, still grey."

The Exus factories that seemed to surround every corner of Mobius have always put out a strong, thick cover of smog. It really wasn't good for any of us to be out there with so much of this crap in the air, but what were we supposed to do, just stay inside for the rest of our lives? Not me, never.

I heard an earsplitting voice coming from the ground below. "Sonic! Get Down Here This Instant!"

That annoying sound could only come from one person…Mrs. Stern. I swear she said my _**real**_ name just to annoy me even more.

Voicing my frustration, I simply shouted, "I told you, it's Nikki!

"I don't care, get down from there right now young lady!"

I felt myself growl under my breath as I reluctantly gave in. "Fine."

Instead of taking the stairs all the way down, I leaped from the top of the five story roof and landed on the ground just a yard from Mrs. Stern's feet. By the look on that anteater's face, I just near gave her a freaking heart attack! Ha, ha, I enjoyed it.

"_**Oh my God child!" **_She screamed in utter terror.

Completely, but not showing that I was enjoying myself, I simply replied, "Yes?"

_And here it comes…the lecture._

"Sonic! How many times have I told you not to climb on the roof? You could've killed yourself jumping from the-!"

I just had to interrupt her. "Nikki."

"What?"

"For the hundredth time, it's Nikki! Sonic was my father's name!" It was truly getting frustrating. My father was a hero, I never did anything to deserve his name.

"Well on your paperwork it says "Sonic", so guess what?"

"You're gonna back off?"

"What the-? No, I will not back off you disrespectful little-!"

Okay yeah, telling her to 'back off' was a little bit too far, but what can I say?

"You get inside right now! It's almost curfew!"

I shouted back in a mocking tone, "Yes Ma'am!"

It's not that I don't respect her or anything, I just don't like being called 'Sonic' and she does this to me…all…the…time! I dashed back toward my room, but I still had trouble with stopping. I came close to my door and tried to stop.

"Whoa! Brakes, brakes, brakes, brakes, brakes!"

I started to skid to a stop, but just ended up tripping over my own feet. Before anyone noticed, I quickly got back up and just walked in the door.

"So, I heard Mrs. Stern yelling at you…_**again**_." Jodi was already there reading her books and typing away on her computer. She obviously heard everything outside the window.

"What? That's it? No, 'hi how's your day Nikki?' or 'how's the weather today?"

Jodi sighs, "I already know the answer to both of those questions, so it would be meaningless to ask."

"Could've at least said 'hi", I teased as I closed the door behind me.

"Hi."

"Nope, too late now" I smiled. Jodi and I always joked around like this. She was all about study and I was all about running, so we often played off of our differences to lighten things up.

"So, what was it now? Food fight in the cafeteria? Running in the halls? Crashing into things _**while**_ running in the halls? Or…sleeping on the roof?

"It was the roof."

"Thank Mobius, because I am not helping you clean the cafeteria again. Yuck!"

"Oh come on, that's what friends are for, right? We always are in this together." I teased as I walked over to the computer desk where she was typing.

"Um correction, _**you**_ always get yourself in trouble and _**I**_ bail you out."

"Well, if you got yourself in trouble once in a while, I'd bail you out." I stated as I batted my eyes with over exaggerated sarcasm.

"You know it doesn't work like that!"

We both started bursting into laughter. We were both stubborn, so joking about it just makes it worth it.

"Man, you should've been there to see Beth's face when I jumped down." I laughed.

"Her name is Mrs. Stern and you could've gotten in more trouble than just sent to bed you know."

"Well, she calls me 'Sonic', so it's only fair that I return the favor" I replied as I fixed my gloves. It's sort of a habit I've developed over the years.

"Nikki, seriously" she tried to be serious, but she couldn't help but laugh at the scene that played back in her head.

I happened to glance out the window and could see nothing but that stupid stone wall in the distance. I sighed and sat down on Jodi's bed. Mine was on the top bunk, so hers was easier to fall back on.

"Jodi…I don't know how much longer I can stay here."

"What?" Shocked by my statement, she turned and looked at me. "What are you talking about?"

My voice didn't sound like my own, it was almost…down hearted. "I can't take this anymore, I feel like I'm trapped here. I want…" A huge sigh escaped my lips as I tried to correct my voice, but I was still betrayed by it. "…I want to be free."

"Nikki, you're eight years old. Once you turn fifteen, you can leave. For now, we're safe here."

"Safe?" I couldn't help but laugh ironically at that statement. "Jodi, don't tell me you can't hear the Exus robots outside the wall every night. One of these days they're just gonna climb on over it."

"I don't know about that, Nikki."

"I do. I can see it from the roof, that wall isn't sound enough to keep them out." I stood up, voicing my strong theory. "The only reason why they haven't tried it is because as of right now, _**we're**_ not a threat."

Jodi sighed, she knew I was right about that. She had been trying to create a barrier system that could use electricity to draw the Exus robots away from the wall using old computers, but because of Mrs. Stern she wasn't able to test it.

I became frustrated as I realized the truth in my own words… 'we're not a threat.' We didn't even know if anyone out there was still fighting back anymore. All we had to go on, were the stories our families told us before…that day. About how a group called the Freedom Fighters banded up against Dr. Eggman time and time again.

_After everything that has happened…is it even possible that they're still fighting?_

I leaped up to the top bunk and laid back. "Someone has to do something…and I have a feeling…it may have to be me."

I don't think that Jodi actually took me seriously, that I was _**really **_going to try and escape from here. Or she knew I was serious and wanted to stay out of it. I didn't blame her, it was a pretty insane idea. Those walls were as high as the roof and it was too far from the roof for me to jump over it…well, without killing myself anyway.

And there was another problem. If the Freedom Fighters were still out there, how would I find them? Their base would be completely hidden, not to mention undetectable by any scanning equipment. That's when I remembered and I really wish that I didn't. There was one person I knew that had the skills, and bragged about them constantly, to be able to track them down…Trace.

Truth was, I had no idea whether or not he would actually help me. We absolutely hated each other, well he hated me anyway. Although, he _**did **_hate being in that place as much as I did. Maybe that was enough to convince him to lead me to their base, in exchange for getting him out.

The very next day I walked over to him. The look on his face was instantly distasteful and his attitude when he spoke was even more so.

"What the hell do you want?" I could feel the anger behind his voice.

"I have a proposition for you."

"Whatever it is, you can take it someplace else. I'm not interested." He stated as he turned away.

I ran and stepped in front of his path, "Just hear me out. I heard you say that you were a great tracker, is that true?"

He gave me a determined look, "Of course it's true, I was raised to be the head tracker in my village."

"Even good enough to track down the Freedom Fighters' current location?" I asked acting curiously.

His gold eyes were filled with uncertainty for my reasons behind my question, "Maybe…why?"

"Look, I know you want out of this place as much as I do."

"So?"

"So, why don't we just leave?"

His look turned into utter confusion, "That's impossible. No one can climb that wall, not even you."

"I didn't say anything about climbing it, I'll give you the rest of the details later."

He then folded his arm in an untrusting manner, "What's in it for you if you get me out?"

"I'm not asking for much, just lead me to where the Freedom Fighters' base is."

I thought for sure that he was going to say 'no' and I was about to ask myself why I even bothered, when he simply said, "Alright, I promise. _**If**_ you get me out of here…I'll lead you to where you want to go."

I was actually surprised Trace decided to go along with this.

I gave him a nod, "Alright, meet me on the roof…I'll tell you the plan."

On the roof, we both discussed our plan and that night we set it into motion. We knew that everyone would be asleep and Mrs. Stern was a heavy sleeper. After everything was set, I stood at one end of the courtyard toward the back of the building. I looked toward Trace and waited for him to give me the signal. He took a flashlight from one of the bags we packed and flashed it in my direction.

_That's my cue._

I readied myself and pushed off the wall as hard as I could and dashed forward. Gaining speed I rushed around the corner and back toward the starting point. The idea was to gain enough momentum to send both Trace and I over the wall. To do that, I guessed I would have to circle the building at least five times before rushing up the side of the wall. As soon as I made it the third time around, I could hear Mrs. Stern's voice screaming from her room. Someone must've told her what we were up to.

_Not good._

There was no time for me to make the last round. I grabbed Trace and made the forth dash around the perimeter. As I came back toward the front, Mrs. Stern came running out of the building and stood in front of me. I forced myself to turn at the last moment and ran up the side of the wall. The top of the wall was just within reach as I suddenly felt myself start to fall away from the wall! I reached up and grabbed the top of the wall with my hand and felt the tremendous weight of both Trace and our knapsacks pulling me downward. I felt my stomach turn as I looked down.

"Ok, now what?" Trace was trying to hide it, but his voice told me that he was scared.

Trying to encourage him, I smiled "I don't know, I didn't plan for this. We'll have to wing it."

"You What?" If there was any doubt that Trace was frightened, it vanished at the sound of those words.

He looked down and saw Mrs. Stern running toward the wall. "Well, you better think of something fast!"

Mrs. Stern was absolutely furious. "Sonic! Get down here this instant!"

"It's Nikki!" I bellowed.

Then I remembered a few days ago when I jumped from the top of the roof…and it gave me an idea.

With all the strength I could muster, I pulled up and placed both feet against the wall. I held myself there and began to run against the wall, building up friction. As soon as I smelled the rubber burning from the soles of my shoes, I loosened my grip on the wall. The energy I created propelled us forward and over. I placed one hand on top and pushed as hard as I could. I looked down to see where we could land…all that was beneath us…was water! Because I had to change direction when Mrs. Stern blocked my path, I ended up jumping over the wrong side! I closed my eyes as I knew there was one thing wrong with this plan…

_I can't swim…_


	2. Chapter 2: Survival Instincts

_**Chapter 2: Survival Instincts**_

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_**Narrator: Trace**_

I felt the air rush out of me as we crashed into the lake near the wall. Desperate to get air, I swam as fast I could and broke the surface gasping for a breath.

_What the hell was Nikki thinking?_

"_**Nikki, are you crazy?"**_

I continued to shout, _**"You almost got us ki-!"**_

That's when I finally looked and noticed…I couldn't see her…anywhere.

"Nikki?" I called out to her, thinking that she must've already swam to the other side. _**"Nikki!"**_

_No answer…she couldn't have…-!_

Without even hesitating I dove down and looked around. The water was so murky, it was almost impossible to see anything down there. Diving deeper I found her and quickly grabbed her and swam as fast I could back to the surface. Hey, I might not like her or anything, but I wasn't just going to let her drown. With whatever strength I had left, I dragged her to shore.

"Nikki, are you okay?"

As soon as we were on land, she started to come back around. "…oh…you heavy…can't swim…"

_Are you freaking kidding me?_

"What the heck? Nikki, why didn't you tell me you can't swim?"

"…wasn't important at the time…"

"That's not the point, I-!"

I suddenly heard Mrs. Stern coming toward us.

_Oh shit!_

I tried to get Nikki up so we could make a run for it, but it was more of a challenge than I thought.

"And you said _**I**_ was heavy", I grunted as I tried to drag her up on her feet.

"Excuse me?"

Well, at least that got her up. But by then, it was too late. Mrs. Stern and her husband were already there and had a hold of us before we even had a chance to run for it.

"So, do you mind telling me what the hell it was you were thinking?" I could tell that Mrs. Stern was trying not to explode. Smoke was practically coming out of her ears.

"Funny, I was about to ask the same thing about your hair.", Nikki retorted.

_She just had to piss her off, did she?…great._

Thanks to Nikki's mouth we got stuck with cleaning the entire orphanage from top to bottom…again great.

_Thanks Nikki, I'll be sure to return the favor later._

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_**Narrator: Sonica**_

Yeah, now thinking about it…it wasn't such a good idea to add fuel to the fire…ah well.

So, Trace and I had to sweep the whole orphanage, it really wasn't too bad. Could've been worse. As I was sweeping, I could barely notice Trace glaring at me the entire time. I know he was just as _thrilled _about this as I was.

"You're looking at me like this is _**my**_ fault or something."

"Uh Nikki…" He gave me this 'no shit' look and waved his fist at me. "This _**is **_all your fault!"

I didn't really pay too much attention to him, I was distracted by something else. It was a scream that nearly gave me a shiver down my spine.

"Trace, did you hear that?"

"Of course I heard it", he rolled his eyes. "Probably one of the kids had another nightmare, I wouldn't worry about it."

That did happen a lot around here. Jodi and I would often comfort the younger children when they had such nightmares. I wouldn't have put it past Trace not to care about it. The scream didn't last, so I figured Jodi took care of it.

"You're right, it's probably nothing."

Trace then sighed and continued sweeping. "Let's just get this done and over with."

"You know, with my super speed I can-"

"No", Trace butted in.

"But you didn't even hear my-"

"No!"

At that same moment, a loud roaring sound came from downstairs that made both Trace and I jump.

"Okay, that was no kid." Trace said with a shock.

"It came from the hall downstairs", out of curiosity I dropped the broom and dashed off. "Gotta find out what that is."

I heard Trace drop his mop and run after me, "Nikki! Wait!" but I was already long gone and almost to the bottom floor.

I looked around the corner and could see the intruder as Trace came rushing down the stairs.

"Shh…Quiet Trace, it'll hear you." I hushed.

Trace was trying to catch his breath, "I…hate you."

He came up behind me and looked over my shoulder. "Anyway, what will hear me?"

"It's just around the corner", I cautioned.

The intruder walked closer and that was when I got a better view of what it was. It's metallic body shined as it stepped into the light. It stood on four legs and had talon like claws on each foot.

I could tell Trace was a little surprised by it. "Okay, that's a big robot. How did _**that**_ get in here?"

It was really massive, at least three times bigger than Trace and I put together. We could be standing on each other's shoulders and it would still be at least a foot taller than us on all fours.

I glanced around the corner. "I don't know, but it hasn't seen us yet. As long as we stay still, we should be-"

Suddenly, I heard a familiar annoying voice bellow from behind us. "Sonic! Trace! What are you doing down here?"

We both couldn't help but jump up. "Mrs. Stern!"

_Talk about the wrong place at the wrong time._

"I thought I told you both to clean upstairs!"

I was really hoping the robot didn't hear that. "Mrs. Stern, you really need to keep it down-"

"Keep it down? Now you listen here young lady, I am so sick and tired of you disrespecting everything I-!"

I could hear the robot coming closer to the corner. "Shh!"

"Don't you 'shh' me you little ingrate! I am going to make sure that you never-!"

I heard a low growl and felt air blowing on my neck. I looked up and just above me was the monstrous robot, glaring down at us with bright, red lights for eyes.

Both Trace and Mrs. Stern were frozen. As I noticed the red light from it's eyes shining at me, something happened. It was like my body knew exactly what to do before my mind could follow. I dashed forward and pushed Trace and Mrs. Stern out of the way as the robot's laser shot out and hit the wall where our heads would have been if I didn't reacted.

But I didn't stop, I didn't event dare to. As soon as I got my footing back, I grabbed Mrs. Stern and used my momentum to throw her across the hall. Then I grabbed Trace, dashed down the hall and shoved Mrs. Stern and Trace into one of the empty rooms.

As soon as I shut the door, Trace finally snapped out of it. Mrs. Stern, of course, was freaking out.

"What the hell is going on?" she panicked.

Trace tried to calm her down. "Mrs. Stern, you have to calm down. That robot is still out there."

While he was doing that, I glanced out the door. It looked like it just took off down the hall thinking we just turned the corner and ran up the stairs.

"That thing is going to find us!"

"I don't think so" I reassured her. "It looked like there was something wrong with it, some wires were cut loose."

"How do you know about that?" Trace asked.

"My best friend is a genius, remember?"

All I could think of was one thing…the other kids. Who was going to help keep that thing away from them? Without even thinking, I started to dash out the door when Trace caught my arm.

"Whoa! Hold it!"

"Trace, let go!"

"You can't go out there! It will kill you!"

"And what about the other children in this hell hole?" I yelled back defiantly as I forced him to release his grip.

"You're right. But what can we do?"

"I need to find Jodi, she's the only one that knows about these things better than anyone else here." I stood in the doorway and looked back, "Stay here with Mrs. Stern and I'll be back."

Without even waiting for a response, I dashed out the door and rushed toward the stairway.

_I just hope I'm not already too late…_

* * *

_**Narrator: None, third person format.**_

The halls were quiet, all that could be heard was the young hedgehog's quick feet as they echoed off the walls. She tried to slow down as she got to the corner, but her feet slid and threatened to slide out from under her.

_No, not again. Not now!_

Nikki slid and flew by the hall that the robot was walking by. The robot turned and barely saw the blue hedgehog and ran after her. Nikki crashed into the end of the hall and her shoulder slammed into the wall. She shook it off and noticed the robot coming in at her at full speed. She scrambled back to feet and dashed out of the way before the robot fired, the bullets hit the stone wall instead of their intended target.

The young hedgehog dashed on ahead, the robot right on her tail. She saw the turn ahead of her.

_Okay, I can't stop…maybe I can try something new._

Instead of slowing down, Nikki maintained her current speed. When she got close, she jumped up on the wall and placed her hand on it for support. Swiftly, she pulled her feet onto the wall and jumped off. Because she was still moving at 100 miles an hour, she simply jumped to the next wall, landed on the ground and continued running. The robot, wasn't as lucky. It didn't have enough time to turn and crashed into the wall as Nikki did before. Wondering if that stopped it, Nikki glanced back. The robot wasn't even phased by the crash and continued chasing her.

_You've got to be kidding me?_

The robot aimed it's laser at her. Now that Nikki knew that she can turn on walls, she could use that to her advantage. She jumped out of the robot's line of sight and the bullets fire just behind her. She continued to jump from wall to wall as she darted down the halls.

The young hedgehog looked ahead of her and saw an air vent on the ceiling. She quickly jumped up and grabbed the grate on the old fashioned vent. The robot fired and she jumped down. The bullets blew the grate off and as the robot ran toward her she jumped on top of the robot's back and swung herself into the vent. The robot was too big to fit, but Nikki was small and had just enough room to be able to run. Wasting no more time, Nikki ran down the vent and followed it all the way to her room. In one motion, she spun and kicked the grate beneath her. The sound nearly knocked Jodi out of her bed.

"Whoa! Nikki what the heck are you doing?" Jodi yelled. "You nearly gave a-!"

Nikki ran over and covered her friend's mouth. She stood still and listened…silent. Realizing it was safe, young hedgehog breathed a huge sigh of relief and released her friend.

"I'm so glad you're alright", Nikki breathed.

Jodi didn't know what to think, she had never seen her best friend act this way before. "What's going on?"

"No time to explain everything, there's a robot somewhere in the halls." Nikki warned.

"What here?" Jodi was trying to run through this in her head. The fact that the robot was in there wasn't so farfetched. They both knew that the wall wouldn't hold them back. Jodi knew that, even though she can be a prankster, there was no way Nikki would make up something as important as this. And even if she did, she would never lie to her.

Jodi gave Nikki a nod, "Alright, so what we need to do first is know what we're up against. What does it look like?"

"Well, it's definitely an Exus robot. It has the insignia and everything."

The Exus robots have an insignia that is derived from the old Eggman brand symbol, but parts of the original logo were blacked out to make an "X" like mark.

"It stands on four legs and its' fast. I mean, _**really**_ fast." As Nikki described it, Jodi pulled a book off of the shelf. It was a collection of files that she had found from news articles.

Suddenly, she stopped at a page and showed it to Nikki. "Is this it?"

Nikki was surprised to find that it was the same one. "That's it!"

"It's called an Exus Beast Class robot. They're basically hunter trackers. This could be a problem."

Nikki continued to look at the picture. "There's something different about it than in this picture though."

"What's that?" Jodi asked curiously.

Nikki pointed to a spot on the page. "Well this right here had wires exposed everywhere, I don't see that here. And here on the forearm too. Also, it doesn't have this thing on it's head either."

"That _**thing **_on it's head is a scan amplifier shield."

"In English please?" Nikki said confused.

"It's a shield that protects the scanners underneath it. It also makes it impossible for it's opponents to tell where it's firing."

Jodi then brings the discussion back to the problem at hand. "So, it's damaged…this is good. We can work with this."

Jodi began to pull her invention from under her bed and started putting it together. "Now is as good a time as ever to test this…but I'm going to need more time to get it running."

She pulls additional wires from under the bed and attached them to the computer. "I'm also going to need a way to get the current to move freely so that it will hit the robot, kind of like a radar system only to mess with the programming. If you can buy me some time, I can have this ready."

"How much time do you need?"

"About thirty minutes."

The girls suddenly heard a scream down the hall.

"Get it done Sis, I'll buy you as much time as I can."

Nikki was about to run down the hall when Jodi stopped her.

"Wait!…Be careful." Jodi said with concern.

Nikki gave her a nod and smiled back, "I will."

She dashed off like lightning to track down the 'beast.'

_Besides, I think I'm enjoying this._

Nikki ran toward where she heard the scream. There around the corner was the robot, trying to get into one of the rooms where the children we trying desperately to keep it out. The young hedgehog looked around for something to get the robot's attention. She realized there was only one thing that she can throw at it.

The blue hedgehog curled herself up and began to spin. As soon as she built up enough momentum, Nikki rushed at the robot and rammed into it's head as hard as she could. To her surprise, the robot actually almost lost it's footing. She bounced off and landed a few yards away.

"Hey! Looking for me?" Nikki yelled.

The robot turned and roared loudly.

Nikki antagonized it even further. "Come on, you pile of scrap! I'm right here!"

The robot charged at Nikki, it's eyes locked on it's target. The small hedgehog rolled and dashed around the corner, the robot was right on her tail, firing wildly. She stopped rolling, but continued to speed down the hall. As she was running, she scanned around searching for anything she can use against the robot to stall it…well at least get it to stop shooting anyway. Suddenly, she looked ahead of her and saw Trace hiding behind one of the corners.

"Trace! What are you-?"

"Get down!" Trace demanded.

Nikki slid and Trace stepped out into the open with a fire extinguisher. He aimed and fired at the robot, blinding it with foam. Trace then grabbed Nikki and tried to pull her toward the corner, but she was still trying to slow down and a loud crack was heard as the force almost pulled Trace's arm out of socket. He grinned and bared it and, with all his strength, pulled Nikki out of harm's way. The robot continued to slide on the foam, unable to stop. It crashed hard into the wall. Nikki looked back at where the robot crashed.

She then looked back at Trace, "Thanks."

Nikki stood up, "What about Mrs. Stern? I told you stay with her."

Trace held up his hand to stop her, "First of all, I don't take orders from you." He then lowered his hand to finish "Second of all, if it wasn't for me you would be Swiss cheese by now."

"And I already thanked you for that, but what about-?"

Trace interrupted her again, "She's fine. In fact, everyone's fine. They're safe."

"That's good…" Nikki looks back at the robot.

Trace leaned to look too, but his shoulder gave him trouble. He quickly grabbed it and winced with pain. _**"Oww!"**_

"Trace?"

Nikki turned and looked at the shoulder that Trace was holding.

The young hedgehog knew exactly what to do. This had happened to her before numerous times while attempting to learn to control her running speed.

She gently grabbed Trace's arm and placed her other hand on his shoulder. "This'll hurt, hold still."

Nikki held on to the arm and then gave a swift push to Trace's shoulder. Trace tried to hold back, but a yell escaped him.

She released him and stepped back. "How's that?"

Trace moved his shoulder and it was back to it's original position. "Still sore, but I can move it."

His golden eyes glance at her for a moment. "Thank you."

Continuing where he left off, Trace leaned and looked over at the heap of metal smashed in the wall. "What should we do about _**that?"**_

Nikki looked back. "It looks like it's out for the count to me."

Suddenly, the robot's arm pried itself from the wall and dug it's claws into the tile floor. The other arm followed and the robot pulled itself out of the wall and rubble.

Nikki and Trace looked with disbelief.

Trace took a step back. "No way…I don't get it, does this thing only turn off with an off button or something?"

"It just keeps coming back." After that outspoken thought, Nikki realized something. "There's only one more thing we haven't tried yet…"

Trace and Nikki both looked at each other.

"…Let's just hope that Jodi's ready." Nikki looked back at the robot.

"In that case, we better hurry and get to her then." Trace started running down the corner hall when Nikki stopped him.

"Wait!" Nikki motioned for him to look toward the robot, "Look."

The robot was trying to look around, but both lights that it used for eyes were out. Did that mean it was blind?

"What's it doing?" Trace was really confused.

"I think you blinded it when you hit it with the fire extinguisher." Nikki started to sneak out into the open, but Trace grabbed her.

"Just because that thing _**might**_ be blind, that doesn't mean it can't find you."

"I know that," Nikki said defensively. "It'll at least give me an advantage."

She leaned over and looked toward the hall she came from. "Head down that hall, it's closer to Jodi's room. I'll distract it."

Trace nodded and got himself ready to run.

Nikki dashed out into the hall. "Hey!"

The robot looked up and fired, but Nikki swerved to the side and it missed.

Nikki looked back at Trace. "Go!"

Trace ran down the hall and Nikki drew the robot's attention. As soon as it noticed her, she dashed down the hall and turned the other corner, away from Trace. It worked, the robot chased her instead of the young wolf.

Nikki found this to be a lot easier than earlier. Blinding the robot really slowed it down by at least a fraction of a second, and that amount of time was what Nikki needed. She was practically flying through the halls. Then, when the robot least expected it, Nikki curled herself up and bounced off the far wall. She came hurling at the robot and plowed into it head on. After she bounced off the robot, Nikki slid to a stop. She dashed forward and spun so fast that sparks were flying. Just before she gets to the robot, she bounced up, smashed into it, and sent the robot flying toward the far wall. The robot caught itself just before it crashed.

Nikki was surprised. The robot must've started adapting to it's new weakness after it was blinded…

_This might not be good…_

Suddenly, the robot launched itself from the wall and hit Nikki hard. She's sent rolling and almost hit the wall, but she caught herself. She just had enough time to look up when the robot was right on top of her. She rolled and dashed down the corner.

Trace and Jodi came running down the hall looking for them when they saw Nikki and the robot dash right by.

Jodi threw the electric barrier charge toward the far corner, "Nikki!"

Nikki looked back and saw her friend's invention hurling toward her. She sped on ahead and caught it. The wall was just ahead of her and the robot was coming up on her heels. She jumps up, plants both feet on the wall and back flips into the air. The robot dug it's claws into where Nikki would've been if she didn't jump. The young hedgehog lands on the robot's back. Right where the wires were exposed on it's head, Nikki drove the charge into the robot and then jumped off. The robot lit up like a lightning storm, began to smoke, then crashes to the ground.

Jodi tried to see her friend through the smoke. "Nikki?…Nikki!"

Nikki coughed, "I'm good."

Jodi breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"That…was awesome!", Nikki laughed.

"And that's why you're the stunt junkie and I'm not!" Jodi yelled for her to hear down the hall.

But Nikki just laughed louder at her 'sister's' response. She walked out of the cloud of smoke and met Jodi and Trace.

Jodi's face suddenly turned serious. "You're…still going to leave, aren't you?"

Nikki eyelids fell shut and she nodded.

"I thought so…", Jodi looks down at her feet.

Their eyes both met as they looked up, wondering what the other's answer was going to be.

Suddenly, Jodi took a couple steps back. "But you can't go, not yet."

"Jodi, we just proved your invention works. The other kids will be safe."

"Wait, let me finish." She started to run back around the corner. "Just listen for once and don't move."

She grabbed something and ran back. "I meant you both can't go…"

She held out both Trace's and Nikki's knapsacks. "…Without these."

Nikki gently took the knapsacks and then embraced her friend. "Thanks, Sis."

They released each other and Jodi and Nikki both took each other's hand in a firm handshake. "I know you both can make a difference in this war. Even if no one else is fighting out there, I know _**you **_will."

"You can count on it." Nikki gave her a determined smile and they released their grip.

"Still, there's one problem…How do we get out of here now? We can't use the same plan to escape." Trace pointed out.

"I think I have an idea," determination still in her bright emerald eyes. "How about the roof?"

"Nikki, you can't jump that far. You have no room on that roof to give you enough momentum to make it over, you'll crash." Jodi calculated.

"Who said anything about starting on the roof?" Nikki started putting on her knapsack and buckled it.

She then throws the other knapsack to Trace. "You may want to buckle up too."

"_It's gonna be one wild ride."_

* * *

_Author's Note: Hmm…I wonder how this is going to go down. The next chapter should be interesting, a lot of arguing going on between Nikki and Trace (of course). But it should be a lot of fun. If everything goes according to plan, it should be up on Sunday or Monday. Keep your fingers crossed!_

_I think now is a good time to warn you that I'm going to try and write this story as often as I can, but I do have a very busy life and I do this strictly for fun. I am going to finish this don't worry. I'm just letting you know not to worry if a new chapter doesn't come up within a week or so, once I start something I finish it._


	3. Chapter 3:  Chaos

And here it is, Chapter 3! Took longer than expected, but better late than never. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 3: Chaos**_

* * *

_**Narrator: None, third person format**_

Outside, Mrs. Stern was making sure that all the children were alright. She started counting each child one by one in the massive group.

Meanwhile, a young blue hedgehog was preparing herself for the most daring stunt she had ever attempted yet. She fixed her gloves, tested the tread on the bottom of her shoes and looked at the corner ahead of her.

On the next floor, a young grey wolf adjusted his harness, making absolutely sure he wouldn't slip out of it. He held the clip in his hand and readied himself. The blue hedgehog placed one of her feet on the wall and one hand on the ground. She closed her eyes and took a cleansing breath.

Her eyes sprang open and the young hedgehog pushed herself off the wall as hard as she could. Quick as a flash she sped toward the corner. As soon as she was close enough, the young hedgehog jumped on the wall and sped even faster. She swiftly ran around the next corner and then the next corner. The small blue flash flew around five times in nothing flat. As soon as she gained enough momentum, Nikki dashed up the stairs. She passed by Trace once, giving him the chance to be able to gauge how fast she was going. The second time she came around, Nikki grabbed Trace's hand and continued to run.

As soon as Trace felt that he was being pulled, he quickly clasped the clip onto Nikki's harness. Because she already gained enough momentum, the extra weight of both Trace and his knapsack didn't even phase her. The young hedgehog picked up more speed and headed to the roof, speeding up the stairs with absolutely no trouble at all.

Jodi ran out into the courtyard where Mrs. Stern and the other children were standing.

"Jodi Ferret!" Mrs. Stern called.

Jodi replied quickly, "Here!"

The young ferret looks up at the roof, knowing that her friend will be there at any moment.

Mrs. Stern looked at her chart, then at the group of children. "Wait a minute…someone's missing…"

She looked at Jodi. "Where are Sonic and Trace?"

Jodi shrugged her shoulders.

Suddenly, a loud sound is heard on top of the roof. It sounded similar to a jet engine taking off. Everyone looked up as Nikki took one last step and then leaped off the roof. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Nikki had perfect form and grace, it was like watching the true blue hero himself. As soon as Nikki passed the wall, she rolled and easily landed on the other side. She barely touched the ground, then continued to dash into the forest. When she was sure she had put enough distance between them and the now raging Mrs. Stern, Nikki swiftly skid to a stop.

"We made it!" Nikki laughed. She completely enjoyed every moment of that plan. "What a rush."

Nikki felt a tug on her harness and looked back at the young wolf, "Trace?"

"Get me out of this thing!" Trace yelled as he was trying to get out of the harness. By the look of him, he didn't enjoy Nikki's running at all. He finally unclipped himself and hit the floor.

Nikki looked at him, a little confused. "You okay?"

Trace looked like his head was still spinning. "The next time you try and talk me into letting you do that again…talk me out of it."

"I take it that wasn't as fun for you as it was for me then?"

"Uh, hell no!" Trace tried to get his footing again, but he was still dizzy. He shakes his head to find his center. "My ears are still ringing."

Being a wolf, Trace had extremely sensitive senses. After that little dash near the speed of sound, all of them were going off at once.

Finally his head started to clear up. "Okay, now that that's over…Thanks for getting me out of there."

Nikki smiles a little. He can be a jerk sometimes, but at least Trace is nice enough to thank someone for their help.

Trace took a closer look at his surroundings. "So, the Freedom Fighters' base…this is not going to be easy."

He looked back at Nikki, "We have to be careful not to lead any robots their way."

Nikki crossed her arms, understanding how serious the situation was. "Okay, so where do we start?"

Trace thought for a moment, "Hmm…well, that robot that snuck into the orphanage was broken…so, ruling out that it wasn't attacked by one of it's own, it's safe to say that if we pick up on that robot's path toward the orphanage…it's more than likely we'll find the Freedom Fighters' trail and can follow that."

"Sounds good to me." Nikki was determined now. They were making progress, as well as getting along for a change.

Getting down to business, Trace walked back toward the direction of the orphanage a couple steps.

He then pointed toward the left. "Let's head this direction, it should meet with the trail to the orphanage and we can pick up the trail from there."

Nikki held out her hand. "Great, grab on."

"Umm, no." Trace shook his head. "No way."

"What's the matter, are you scared?" Nikki said in a joking manner.

"I'm not scared!" Trace yelled defensively.

"Then what's the problem? We'll get there faster if we run."

"Yes, but if we run we'll draw attention. Remember how that robot chased you earlier? It's too risky."

"And if we walk, you'll be stuck with me longer." Nikki teased.

Trace really didn't like the idea of being around Nikki any longer than necessary, but he was a man (well, boy) of his word and he did promise to lead Nikki there, so he was stuck. However, he really didn't want to blow his eardrums out again either. Health ruled over sake of sanity and he decided to try and convince Nikki that walking was the better option.

"As much as I would love to be as far away from you as possible, if we run and they catch us we would never make it to our destination."

"If you keep worrying so much, your fur will turn grey before you're thirty-Oh wait, too late for that." Nikki was a little bit irritated with him. Even after all this, he still hated her. Not like she really cared anyway, but still…why was he still pissed at her.

They both stared at each other angrily.

"Brat."

"Jerk."

Then both of them swiftly looked away.

Trace just shook his head and walked toward the direction he stated earlier. Nikki glanced in the direction that Trace was going. As much as she didn't want to follow him, she knew that this was her only option if she even hoped to find the Freedom Fighters. Finally, she let out a huge sigh and caught up to Trace, following behind him.

_This walking thing might not be so bad…maybe…_

After about an hour, Nikki was starting to get restless.

"Ugh, how the heck can you stand walking this slow." Nikki moaned.

"Maybe if you took the time to slow down a little, you wouldn't miss so much."

"Like what?" Nikki stated. She was beginning to doubt Trace's skills.

"Well for example, take a minute and listen." Trace was still looking around ahead of him.

Though he was talking to her, he wasn't giving her his full attention. "Hear anything?"

Nikki listened for a second, "I don't hear anything."

"That's because you're not _listening_." Trace reiterated. "This time, keep your mouth shut and try again."

She gave him a look that showed her immediate thought…

_Jerk._

This time, she tried to listen to what was around her. Even though Trace was rude about it, he was trying to teach her something. Most likely, it was just to keep Nikki from talking, but it did have some value behind it. No birds were chirping, no animal sounds at all. Nikki could actually hear the sound of a robot's gears turning nearby. And not just one, she heard more on the other side as well. Nikki was about to say something when Trace put his hand up to stop her.

"Don't! I know they're there, paying attention to them may draw them closer." Trace cautioned.

"So, why aren't they atta-!"

Trace stopped her, "Don't say that word."

"Don't say what?" Nikki was really confused.

"If you say words like that when they're nearby, it may trigger something. They must not know our true objectives. As we are listening to _them_, I'm more than certain that _they_ are monitoring _us_ as well. And just saying aggressive words, even if we don't mean to do anything, can cause them to see us as a threat."

Trace glanced back at her as he continued, "Best we stay on the down low for now."

Suddenly, Trace looked at the ground and saw something. He moved his arm in front of Nikki to stop her from going any further. "Hold it."

He kneels down and places his hand on what looked to Nikki was just dirt, but to Trace it was information. He gently followed the loose ground with his hand. "Yes, now _this_ is what we're looking for."

He looked over to the right. "There are signs of a struggle here."

He then walked a little bit to the left. "The robot was pushed this way…"

Trace followed a deep indent with his hand. "…this is where his front foot dug into the ground and got stuck, see?"

Nikki walks closer and kneels down next to Trace. "Yeah. Right there, right?"

It was exciting for her to see Trace in his element, he seemed more comfortable. Not to mention more tolerable to be around.

"A lot of force must've came down on it to create that indent in the hard soil."

"Was it…" She was about to say 'attacked', but Trace gave her a look. "…um well, _betrayed_ by one of the other robots?"

Trace smiled at Nikki's save. He had to admit, she learned fast. "Let's find out."

He walked a little ways back, following the marks from the robot. He couldn't see any sign of Mobian footprints, nor could he find any sign of another robot fighting it either. It didn't add up. He was missing something and he knew it. He noticed that the ground space wasn't wide enough to attack from ground level. If the Freedom Fighters _did_ do this, they would've had to attack from the air instead. He looked up.

_Couldn't have been from the air, too much tree cover._

He looked at one of the trees and couldn't help but tilt his head to the side. Something about it was off…

He walked over to the tree and looked closely at two strange indents into the trunk. They were too small for a robot to make and nothing he could think of had only two fingers.

Nikki walked up to the same tree that Trace was looking at and looked curiously at the marks.

_These seem familiar…_

She placed her hand on the wall next to the indents in the trunk. She then balled her hand into a fist, her knuckles facing into the tree. Realizing the connection, Nikki moved her fist toward the holes. The holes almost lined up with the knuckles on Nikki's hand. Both of them had the same idea at the same time. They looked at each other.

"You don't think…" Trace realized.

"Just like in the stories." Nikki looked at the holes and saw that they ran up the side of the tree. "No doubt about it…"

She then looked back at Trace. "…it's them."

Trace looked up at the branches, "They used the trees…resourceful."

"So, up for taking the high road?" Nikki asked.

"It would be safer…" Trace pondered.

Nikki was up the tree quick as flash. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

Trace shook his head and swiftly climbed the tree. "Take it easy, we're trying _not _draw attention, remember?"

Nikki leaned back on a branch of the tree. "What did I say about worrying too much? If you have time to worry, then do something else."

Trace made it to where Nikki was and gave her a look. "You don't worry enough, that's my opinion."

"Fine…" Nikki shrugged, "…you have your opinion and I have mine."

Trace looked at the branch that Nikki was leaning on. He then looked beyond it and saw the tree that the Freedom Fighter from this angle would've jumped to. "That way."

Trace leapt forward and Nikki followed.

They kept moving forward, jumping from tree to tree. Straight ahead, Trace could see what looked to be a clearing ahead of them.

"I think the end of the forest is just ahead." Trace relayed back to Nikki. "We can rest if you're tired."

"Are you kidding, I can do this all day." Nikki was excited, they were getting closer. "Why, are you tired?"

Trace laughed, "Ha! No way."

Trace suddenly heard something he wished he didn't hear. It was the sound of a missile going off in the distance. Nikki's ear twitched and she glanced in the same direction that Trace heard the sound, Trace knew that Nikki heard it too. It was a good thing that Trace taught her that little trick about listening to her surroundings, because it wasn't but a half a second later that the very missile they heard hit the very tree that Nikki was jumping to. The missile exploded and the tree itself caught on fire and smoked.

Trace tried to see through the dense smoke, "Nikki!"

He heard a coughing sound to his left. The young wolf looked over to the tree that was a good twenty feet away from him. There was Nikki, grabbing onto the branch trying to pull herself up. There was at least fifty feet between her and the ground.

Trace then smelled exhaust from a jet engine and heard gears moving behind him. "No…Nikki jump!"

Nikki barely saw the huge robot hurling toward her. Quickly, she swung herself up and then jumped out of the way of the robot. The jet like robot turned and came back faster than Nikki could react a second time and the robot cut the branch from under her feet! The young hedgehog felt herself fall back and found herself hurtling toward the ground. At that moment, only one thought crossed her mind…

_This is gonna hurt._

She quickly rolled up into a ball, hoping that if she spun fast enough it will lessen the blow when she crashed. As she started spinning, she hit the ground. Because she was still spinning, she continued moving forward and her back crashed into a tree. The force knocked the wind out of her and she passed out.

Trace quickly climbed down as safely as he could and ran toward her. "Nikki!"

Suddenly, the robot jumped right between him and Nikki. It took a step toward him, it's bright red eyes shining. Trace jumped out of the way as a laser shot out of it's eyes, but it predicted where Trace would land and then smacked him into a tree. The robot followed where Trace was about to land, took one of it's massive arms and pushed the young wolf into the ground. The robot's eyes begin to glow again and this time, Trace had no way out.

Nikki managed to get a breath back and looked toward Trace. Her vision was blurred, but she could make out that Trace was in trouble. Without even hesitating, the young hedgehog spun and rammed into the robot's head. The robot's laser shot in the other direction and burned through a nearby tree. The massive tree started to fall and crashed onto the robot, crushing it. The force of the crash pulled the arm up, but Trace was unable to get himself out of the robot's grip. Robot oil shot out like a geyser.

"Trace!" Nikki called out.

"Here!" Trace answered.

She dashed over to him and noticed that Trace was trapped. The young hedgehog spun and slammed into the top of the robot's arm, breaking it apart.

Trace managed to climb out and he looked at the oil and sparks coming from the robot. "It's gonna blow, run!"

They both tried to get as far away from the blast as they could, but Nikki looked back and could see the sparks light up the oil. She grabbed Trace's arm and dashed forward as fast as she could. The flames from the explosion were right on their tail. She jumped behind a huge boulder and they both braced themselves as the massive explosion blasted either side and brushed right by them. Robot debris flew in every direction. Trace and Nikki both listened to see if it was over…all they heard was the sound of the fire cracking.

"I think it's done." Just as soon as Nikki was about to step out into the open, Trace pulled her back.

"No!"

A large, sharp piece of twisted metal came flying in and landed where Nikki was just standing. Shocked by how close a call that was, both kids tried to catch their breath.

Trace listened again, then released Nikki. "Okay, _now_ it's done."

The kids walked out and looked at the damage. At least there wasn't too much fire damage, it was mostly shrapnel and robot debris piercing the trees and the ground.

"Nothing looks completely burned." Nikki observed.

"Yeah, I guess it had a self-destruct feature." Trace looked at the tree around him, thinking how close it was to have been him and Nikki.

_What were they really getting themselves into here?_

Suddenly, Nikki spotted something shinning under a piece of metal. "What's that?"

As Nikki ran toward it, Trace looked at her. "Nikki, what are you doing? We don't know if it's safe."

She was already there and pulling the twisted metal off the mysterious object. A bright, yellow glow surrounded the casing to the tube like object. Silver liquid ran through the casing protecting what looked to be where the yellow glow was coming from in the center. She picked up the strange tube and looked at it curiously. It glowed brighter in her hand.

"What the…?" Nikki wondered.

"Nikki, seriously? It could be a bomb or something, why did you pick that-?" Trace suddenly stopped when he saw the object that Nikki was holding. He walked closer, his look was just amazed as Nikki was. "What _is_ that?"

"Not sure…but I think we should hold onto it. Bomb or not, I'm sure it will come in handy later." Nikki placed the glowing object in her bag for safe keeping. "So, where to from here?"

"Well first…" Trace said looking at all the oil and dirt all over his fur. "…I think we should find a place to wash up."

Nikki looked at herself and was thinking the same thing. "Yuck! Yeah good idea."

Later on, they find a place near a river where they could wash up. Somehow they managed to find something to argue about along the way there.

"I'm just saying, it wasn't a smart idea just walking over to something when you have no idea what it is." Trace said bluntly.

Nikki stopped walking and crossed her arms, "What are you trying to say, Trace?"

"I'm not saying you're stupid if that's what you're thinking. I'm just saying what you did was stupid that's all…although sometimes I wonder."

"What was that?"

_Oops, I was thinking out loud wasn't I?…_

He tried to salvage what he said by changing the subject. "Oh look, the river's just up ahead. Umm…you can go first, I'll wait right here."

But it was already too late to 'salvage' anything. Nikki was still very pissed off. Nikki gave him an angry look and walked past him. She sets her knapsack down and looked back. "Try anything and you'll regret it."

She then continued walking down the path toward the river.

"Don't expect me to jump in and save you this time!" Trace yelled back in anger.

He turned away and started walking toward a tree where he was going to rest when Nikki's shoe came hurtling through the trees and hit the back of Trace's head. "Oww! Hey!"

After Nikki washed up, Nikki made her way back to camp. Trace heard her coming back and threw her shoe back at her, but she simply caught it.

"Thanks, I was looking for that." She said mockingly, knowing full well that it will piss him off.

Trace shook his head, "You're such an annoying little…Grr!"

"Okay, you know what. I was just not going to say anything, but I can't let this go on anymore. I am so sick and tired of you treating me like I have no idea what I'm doing and downing me all the time. Last I checked, no one deserved that." Nikki was really trying hard not to lose her temper, but Trace was pushing her again.

"And I'm sick and tired of you thinking that everything is just one big game! You think that there's nothing to worry about, ha! I don't know about you, but everything that happened today _proves it!_ You can't go through life thinking you're invincible and that you can handle everything! You're father thought that way and look what happened to him!"

"Somehow, I knew you were going to go there." That was the last straw for Nikki. "You know what? I don't understand why you hate me and my father so much! Okay, maybe I understand why you hate me because I made fool of you the day we first met, but my dad did nothing-!"

Trace cut her off, _**"Exactly! When my village was destroyed, that's what the Freedom Fighters did, nothing!"**_

"I don't believe that!"

"Of course you don't, the hero's daughter! You would always take _their_ side!"

"Is that what you think this is about? Taking sides? Trace, this is about saving what is left of this world…not who's side you're on!" Nikki looked at him, her emerald eyes full of anger and hurt. "Our parent's war has already became our own! We all need to be on the same side, not divided like this!"

"I _completely _disagree with you! I can't aid the same people that just left my home to fall into ruin!"

"Is that what you heard? That the Freedom Fighters just abandoned everyone?"

"Then what do think happened Nikki? You tell me!" Trace now looked at her, his anger matching hers. "Their leader just disappears and everything falls apart just five years later? Think about it! The leader of the Freedom Fighters is mortal like anyone else, he could've just ran away from everything!"

Oh, Nikki was done now. She was just pissed before, but now…she was absolutely done. She walked up to him, just inches away from his face. "You have no idea…hearing everyday how _your father _died to save everyone before you were even born…To hear constantly, what great man he was and never to have met him to know yourself…Believe me, I would love for you to be right about him just running away and being alive somewhere out there…but the truth is from what I've heard…and what I know about myself…I know for a fact…that _my_ father never would've abandoned anyone…so if I were you…I wouldn't even _dare_ mention that to me again."

She stepped away from him and picked up her pack. She then turned around and started walking down the path.

"Where the hell do you think you're going!"

"Away from you. I'll find my own way to the base if I have to."

"Fine! This is great, this is what I wanted in the first place go! Good luck, Brat!"

"You too, Jerk!" Nikki yelled not even giving him a glance back.

She continued walking down the path. She could feel tears coming to her eyes, but she took a deep breath and held them back.

_If you have time to worry, then think of something else..._

* * *

Author's Note: Will Nikki be able to find her way to the base on her own? Find out in Chapter 4, coming soon.


	4. Chapter 4: Prodigy

Alright. Last we left off, Nikki and Trace had a fight and Nikki decided to go off on her own.

Let's see how this plays out. *leans back and looks at the screen*

* * *

_**Chapter 4: Prodigy**_

* * *

_**Narrator: None, third person format**_

The young grey wolf picked up his knapsack and swung it over his shoulder. He looked toward the trail that Nikki took out of the forest.

_She's going the wrong way…_

Trace simply turned away and started walking in the other direction.

…_Not my problem._

Knowing the road ahead was going to be rough, Trace buckled his knapsack. After making sure it was completely secure, he effortlessly jumped up into the tree. He jumped to the next tree, and then the next. Suddenly, his ear twitched to the left and he jumped backward. What he heard, was one of the nearby robots rushing in at him. They must've heard the kids' argument, and the loud yelling set them off. It passed him and dug it's claws into the tree next to him.

_Now __**this**_ _is a problem…_

The robot opened it's mouth and the young wolf could see a spark light up in it's throat.

"Shit!"

Trace jumped down to the next branch just before the blast shot out of it's mouth. The young wolf grabbed onto the branch and then swung himself on top of it. He had no time to think when the robot was suddenly right in front of him. The young wolf jumped off as the robot tried to slash him with it's claws, cutting the tree instead. The top of the tree couldn't take the pressure anymore and snapped, causing the tree branch that Trace was going to grab onto to sway out of his reach. The young wolf was falling with nothing but ten feet of air under him.

"No!" He yelled as he saw the branch slip from his grasp.

Trace hit the ground first and then the top of tree fell onto the forest floor with a loud crash. He heard a sickening crack and couldn't help but yell as he felt pain shooting up his right leg. It wasn't half a second later that he felt a tremendous weight slam into his chest. The robot had landed on the tree that was crushing the small wolf. The shock of the blow made the wolf's eyes spring open, only to see the robot's sharp, talon-like claws just inches away from his face. The menacing monster leaned it's head in closer, it's red eyes glaring at him showing no sign of emotion. Trace could feel his world around him fading. He closed his eyes and hoped that it would be quick…

Suddenly, he heard a muffled sound that forced him to stay conscious. It sounded like a helicopter flying over head in the distance, only it didn't seem to come from the air. A strong breeze blew by him and he heard the sound of metal twisting and bending.

The robot was pushed off of the small wolf and was sent back a good ten feet before slamming into the ground. The wind suddenly slowed down and a familiar figure rose up from the cloud of dust. A golden glow was swirling around her, though she still had the same true blue fur that was blowing along with the wind. Her emerald eyes had a bright glow behind them as she stared at her opponent.

Trace could hear a voice in the wind, "Trace?…You better stay with me, you hear?"

The blue hedgehog glanced back at him, "Don't you dare die on me."

There was something different about her. She was more serious, stronger, the wind seemed to pick up speed when she looked back at the murderous robot with determination in her eyes. The robot growled at her and then let out an earth shaking roar.

"That's right…come and get me!"

The robot charged forward and then opened it's mouth. The blast came straight for her, but she held up both her hands and formed a shield which blocked the attack safely.

"_**Foolish girl!" **_Nikki heard from the menacing creature. It's voice was every bit as frightening as it looked.

"So you can speak, and here I'm thinking all of you were mindless freaks."

"_**Why do you protect the life something you hate?"**_

"Do I need a reason?" Nikki crossed her arms. "Besides, I don't need to explain myself to you."

"_**That Chaos Drive in your quills, my sensors tell me that is where your power is coming from."**_

"So that's what this thing is called…" Nikki said as she touched the back of her head where she hid it.

"_**Mortals can't tap into the power of a Chaos Drive. If I take you back alive, your skills could be useful."**_

Nikki just laughed, "Good luck with that, junk head." She then looked at the robot with defiance in her eyes, "Cuz, you'll be nothing but scrap when I'm done with you."

"_**Even with all that power, do you think that a mere mortal like yourself can stop me alone?"**_

Nikki was right in front of the robot in a split second. "I _know_ I can."

The wind picked up around her and she pushed off the ground as hard as she could. She kicked the robot up into the air and then leaped passed it so that she was right above it. She spun as fast as she could and then drove herself straight into the robot, causing it to crash into the ground. She then counter spun in the opposite direction, causing the robot to spin along with her into the ground. Sparks began to fly in every direction. Desperate to keep Nikki from breaking through it's armor, the robot swung it's massive tail and smacked her into the tree. But she caught herself planting both feet on the tree and both hands holding back the giant tail. The wind picked up again and Nikki pushed off the tree. She grabbed onto the robot's tail. The tip of the blade dug into her hand, but she ignored it. She forced the bladed tail into the robot's back and leaped onto the other side, kneeling in front of Trace and the fallen tree.

"_**How could this be?…*zap*…That insignificant rodent can't-!"**_

As she stood up, the wind followed her. That was when, while it's programming was slowly deteriorating, the robot saw something that didn't compute. Standing right where Nikki was standing was the true blue hero himself, but it was just a malfunction in the robot's computer as it broke down. The picture kept flashing back and forth in the robot's mind as it crashed.

"That's _Sonic_ to you."

The robot's lights dimmed and the it collapsed. Nikki's attention quickly turned to Trace. She leaped over the tree, being extra careful not to cause anymore harm to the wolf.

"Trace? Trace answer me!"

She quickly placed her hands under the tree and pulled up as hard as he could. Thanks to the Chaos Drive she was drawing power from, she lifted the tree and then pushed it forward. That was when Nikki saw how serious Trace's condition really was.

_He's lost a lot of blood…Damn it!_

She rushed back to Trace's side.

_He's still breathing…_

She knew basic first aid, Jodi taught her, but she couldn't help Trace not here. What Trace needed was to get to a hospital, but Nikki knew there was no way that was an option. They were in the middle of nowhere and besides, Nikki would have to leave Trace to get help. She couldn't leave him there, not like this with those…murderers…nearby. As her emotions of desperation began to surface, she noticed the glow around her become brighter. She reached behind her head and grabbed the Chaos Drive in her quills. She took it out and looked at it. Suddenly, she felt a different energy surge through her. It wasn't the same as before.

_I wonder…_

She held the Chaos Drive tightly in her hand then looked at Trace. The blue hedgehog placed her hand on Trace's chest, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her eyes sprang open and she felt the energy surge through her and surround the young wolf. The glow grew increasingly stronger…

_Come on Trace…just bear with me…_

She watched looking for any signs of change. Trace's leg began to heal and his chest began to rise, showing that the broken ribs where moving back into place.

Nikki could feel the energy start to leave her. _No! Come on, not yet!_

She continued to push herself, allowing the energy to funnel though from the Chaos Drive to Trace using herself as a current. Finally, the drive ran out and Nikki nearly collapsed. She caught herself, she actually found it difficult to hold herself up where she was sitting.

She looked at the young wolf, searching for any signs of life. "Trace? Say something, anything!"

Suddenly, Trace coughed, "Ow."

Nikki gasped when she saw the young wolf open his eyes. He sat up and looked at his leg and moved it…nothing hurt at all.

Trace couldn't believe that he was still alive, let alone completely healed. "What the hell?"

That's when he noticed that Nikki was right next to her, "Nikki?"

Nikki breathed a huge sigh of relief. She was trying to hide it, but she was completely exhausted. "Good, you're alright."

"But you…" Trace was really confused. Last he checked, Nikki absolutely hated him, she had to after what he said to her. So, why did she run all the back to help _him_? It made no sense to him. "Why?"

" 'Why' what?" Nikki laughed.

"Why did you-?" He was trying so hard to figure this out. "You hate me, so why would you help me?"

"I never said that I hated you…you did." Nikki simply stated as she finally relaxed for a minute. "Sure you can be a jerk sometimes, but it would take a lot more than words to make me 'hate' you."

She laid the now dim Chaos Drive on the ground. "And even if I did…it's not in my nature to leave someone when I know their life's on the line. I would never to that."

"Nikki…" Trace sighed. Yep, now he really felt like a jerk.

After brushing the fur out of his face, he looked back at her. "I never should've…what I said…it was completely unforgivable."

Nikki gave him a smile, she knew what he meant. "Apology accepted."

Trace smiled back and stood up, he tested his leg. "I have no idea what you did, but…"

He swung his shoulder a little stretching it out. "…I feel great."

He then stopped when he realized something was odd about what happened. He looked back at her, "What did you do?"

Nikki picked up the Chaos Drive, but it was with the same hand that she had cut on the robot's bladed tail. She cringed a little and looked at her hand, she looked more annoyed than worried. "Right, I forgot about that."

Trace kneeled next to her, realizing that she was hurt. "You okay?"

"Ah, I just cut my hand on that robot when I…well…" She motioned for trace to look in the direction of the mangled robot with the huge blade sticking into it's back.

Trace looked at the mess of scrap metal and Nikki continued. "…anyway, no big deal."

Nikki reached into her bag and took out a handkerchief. She started to wrap her hand when Trace stopped her and took the cloth from her. He then began wrapping her hand. "Allow me. You saved my life, the least I could do is give you a hand."

"Ha funny." Nikki gave him a sarcastic look at his lame pun.

Trace tied the cloth and then stood back up. "There you go, that should do it."

"Thanks." Nikki said as she looked at Trace's handy work.

_So, I can't heal myself…good to know._

Nikki started to stand up, but her legs threatened to give out underneath her and she almost fell.

Trace caught her. "Nikki!"

Nikki could no longer hide it, she was really exhausted now. "I'm alright…just tired…"

She closed her eyes and smiled, brushing it off. "I guess that Chaos Drive took more out of me than I thought."

"You what?" Trace shook his head and sighed. Nikki carelessness when it came to her own safety was annoying him, but he wasn't about to argue with her. Look where that got him recently. "You know what? Never mind, we'll discuss it later."

Trace could see that Nikki was about to pass out and he scanned around looking for a place where they could rest. He saw a cave, but it was into the side of a cliff.

He gave a slightly annoyed look. "Of course, just my luck."

* * *

About thirty minutes after leaving the cave, Trace came back with branches tied together. He swung the rope over his shoulder and climbed up the cliff then into the cave.

"I'm back!" he yelled as he set the branches down so he could pull himself up. He looked over at Nikki and his look was still annoyed. "…and you're still passed out."

The young wolf pulled himself up and started piling up the branches. "Better get the fire going." he said to himself.

Trace started the campfire and then leaned against the cavern wall. He didn't realize how tired he was too and he found himself falling asleep to the sound of the crackling fire.

* * *

The next morning, the kids were on the move.

Trace had picked up the trail again and was on a roll. "We're almost there!" he yelled back.

Nikki was right next to him following his movements effortlessly. Turns out, a good night's rest was all she needed to get back on her feet again. "Awesome! I can't wait!"

They came to the end of the forest line and ran the rest of the way until Trace stopped. He was looking back and forth in different directions. Nikki couldn't see it, but Trace could tell that the trail split in two different directions.

The young wolf looked to his left and then looked at Nikki.

"Well…this is it."

Trace then looked to the right. "This is where you go on your own."

"So, you're still not coming I take it?" Nikki crossed her arms.

Trace shook his head. "There's something I have to do…"

He then looked back at the blue hedgehog. "…you can find your way from here."

Nikki nodded, "Alright."

She stepped forward to where Trace was standing and looked to the left.

"Just keep going straight from that direction and you should find it."

Nikki started to walk down the invisible path when Trace called back to her. "Oh, and Nikki…"

Nikki glanced back at him.

"Try not to trip." Trace said trying to hold back and amusing smile.

Nikki gave him a slightly determined look, she knew he was just messing with her. "Thanks, and you better watch out. I heard that random shoes can attack out of nowhere."

"Ha, ha." Trace gave an overly sarcastic laugh.

He then turned to the path ahead of him and gave her a smile, "Good luck, Brat."

Nikki looked back and gave him a smile in return, "You too, Jerk."

Nikki dashed forward and jumped past the bushes and was gone. Trace took a step forward then looked back one last time. He then took off into the forest.

_Time to go home._

* * *

Author's Note: So...Nikki is more like her father than she realizes...interesting :) And Trace is going home...this could be really good, or really bad.

For some of you Trace fans out there, don't worry. This wont be the last time we'll see him.

And as for Nikki, what's her reaction going to be when she gets to the base and who will she meet there?

Find out, in Chapter 5. :)

To check new chapter progress, check my profile. :)


	5. Chapter 5: Destiny

Here it is! Chapter 5 :)

* * *

_**Chapter 5: Destiny**_

* * *

_**Narrator: None, third person format**_

Following Trace's directions, Nikki kept running forward. She found herself in a part of the forest where the trees ran around the mountain range in the distance. The young hedgehog rushed through, scanning her surroundings but never losing sight of the path that lied ahead. The forest started opening up and Nikki saw a cliff wall just a hundred feet in front of her.

_Whoa!_

The young hedgehog tried to skid to a stop, but she was already too close to the cliff. "Come on, brakes!…not good!"

She crashed right into the cliff side wall and found herself hitting the floor faster than she had time to react. She blew her dusty blue bangs out of her face.

_Of course._

She stood up and brushed the dirt off of her clothes. The young hedgehog looked up at the cliff.

_Hmm…could run around it, but that would take too long…_

She then smiled. _Looks like I'm going up._

Nikki jumped back and ran as fast as she could toward the cliff. She gained just enough speed to run up the side of the cliff. She had planned on just running to the top, but she found about halfway up the cliff there was no more rock to run on.

_What the heck?_

She caught herself and realized what had happened. The young hedgehog had ran into a cave on the side of the cliff face. She looked up and looked out of the cave. The cavern's mouth was massive. How was it so well hidden before? She didn't even see it until her feet were right in front of it. Nikki then turned and looked down into the cave. It was pitch black. She took off her knapsack and took out a flashlight. The light showed how truly massive the cave really was and it seemed to go on forever into the mountain. If the Freedom Fighters had a base, this place would certainly be big enough.

The young hedgehog walked further into the cave. Something deep inside the cave shined back at her when the light touched it. With no fear the young hedgehog stepped forward. Only a huge hanger door greeted her at the end of the cave. As she walked up and touched the door, a laser came out and shined on her. Out of instinct, Nikki backed up at first. But then she realized the it was just scanning her. She kept her guard up even after the laser's light disappeared.

Suddenly the voice of a computer echoed through the cave, "Bio-scan match. Welcome Sonic."

A small part of the huge hanger door opened. It was just big enough for an average Mobian to walk through.

"Well, here goes nothing." She took a deep breath and then stepped through the door.

The room opened up into a massive hanger. Nikki almost couldn't believe her eyes. There were at least ten planes in there and there was still room fro at least ten more.

_Wow._

She walked down the stairwell to the ground floor. The young hedgehog heard someone talking from under one of the planes. Nikki walked over cautiously, she could see a fox tail sticking out from under the plane.

"Ah you're back. Hey, could you do me a favor and hand me that wrench over there on the table?" The fox spoke and reached his hand out from under the plane.

Nikki saw the tool box and without saying a word she grabbed the wrench and handed it to the hand.

"Thank you." The fox continued to work on the plane. "Yeah, I know what you're going to say. I shouldn't even be doing this right now, but I really couldn't help myself. You know how it is. Just don't tell 'you know who' or she'll kill me."

"Don't worry, I won't." Nikki responded.

Not recognizing Nikki's voice, the fox jumped up and hit the underside of the plane. "What?-Oww!"

The fox pushed himself out from under the plane. That's when Nikki noticed, the fox had two tails instead of one. He looked to be at least eighteen. The fox looked at her, almost in disbelief.

"You alright?" Nikki asked.

"It think so…but" He was still trying to figure out what was going on. The fox stood up, he was tall, much taller than Nikki obviously.

He glanced around him, toward the hanger door, and then back at the little hedgehog. "How did you get in here?"

"Umm…the door." Nikki laughed.

"So my security system just let you walk in?" He then looked up and yelled. "Thanks Seth!"

An unknown voice seemed to respond. "But Sir, her bio-scan matched."

The fox's look changed to surprised when he heard that. He turned and looked at Nikki.

He kneeled down so that his blue eyes met hers. "What's your name?"

"Nikki." She answered.

"According to my record, it said 'Sonic'." The walls spoke.

Nikki gave a slightly annoyed look. _This is going to be the same everywhere I go, isn't it?_

She sighed and looked up. "Okay, my name is 'Sonic', but prefer to be called Nikki…or Sonica."

"Names added to roster." Seth announced.

"Thanks." She responded and then looked back at the two-tailed fox.

He smiled at her then closed his eyes. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Nikki. I'm Miles Prower, but just call me 'Tails'."

"Tails?" Nikki then shook her head, realizing she recognized something. "Of course, I should've known that. You're a friend of my father's, right?"

"That's right, who told you that?"

Suddenly, they both heard a voice coming from a door on the right side of the hanger wall. "Tails! Are you working in here again?"

The door opened and a cream colored rabbit stepped into the room. She looked like she was around the same age as Tails, maybe a little younger.

"I told you, you shouldn't be-" she froze as soon as she saw Nikki.

"Cream this is Nikki, Nikki…Cream." Tails introduced.

Nikki waved, "Hey."

Cream looked at Tails, then looked back at Nikki. She was kind of surprised that Nikki was there.

She then collected herself, "Well Nikki, nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Nikki laughed.

"I'm sure you're tired and hungry, would you like to come inside?"

"Sure." Nikki stood up and then turned to Tails. "See you inside then?"

"I'll be right there." Tails smiled.

Nikki ran on ahead and Cream almost walked out the door, but leaned in and looked at Tails.

"And about this-" She stated as she pointed at Tails' workstation.

"I know, I know. We'll talk later after…well…after Knuckles gets back."

Cream walked on inside and Tails breathed a huge sighed and leaned against the plane. He rubbed the back of his head. _Oh boy, I wonder how this is pan out._

About few minutes later, another figure walked in through the cave hanger door. The figure turned on the lights and revealed the red echidna as he jumped down to the lower floor.

"Welcome back, Knuckles." The computer greeted.

"So, where's Tails? He's usually still working down here by the time I get back." Knuckles stated curiously.

"Well, you see um…"

"Seth?"

"You better go see for yourself. I believe they're in the living room."

"He didn't get caught or anything, did he?"

"Like I said, go see for yourself."

The red echidna shook his head. "Alright."

He walked toward the inside door and walked into the living room.

"Hey guys, I'm back." He suddenly froze when he saw Nikki sitting on the couch.

It was silent for a moment, then Nikki spoke first. "Hi there."

Cream wasn't sure how this was going to go, but she certainly wasn't going to let a little girl hear the yelling that might take place in a few short minutes. "Well Nikki I think we should go and see where you're staying for the night."

"Umm, okay." Nikki could tell that Cream was worried, but she wasn't about to argue.

Both girls ran up the stairs and Knuckles looked at Tails. He had no idea what this was all about.

"Okay, look Knuckles I can explain."

"Oh please do." Knuckles crossed his arms and gave him and irritated look.

Cream came back down right after Tails explained everything to Knuckles.

"What do mean this isn't a problem? This is a big problem!"

"Knuckles, I really don't think-"

"That kid got through your security system, broke into our base and she probably led a horde of those things right to our doorstep!"

"Will you be quiet?" Cream yelled at Knuckles in a hushed tone. "She could hear you."

"I really don't care."

Cream gave him an angry look and Knuckles backed off.

The red echidna rolled his eyes. "So, what do you think you're gonna do just let her stay here?"

Tails walked over to the couch and sat down, "I don't know."

"A place like this isn't good for a child, it's not safe here." Cream interrupted again.

"And apparently the place she came from wasn't safe either…" Tails looked at his friends. "Think about it, if an eight year old can escape from that orphanage then who's to say that an Exus couldn't get in?"

Knuckles walked up to Tails, placed both hands on the coffee table and leaned in close. "She is Sonic's daughter. Of course she got out, she's just like him."

Tails looked at Knuckles, his look was just as determined as his. "And so are the Exus robots. They're built to be able to defeat Sonic, remember?"

Knuckles' eyelids fell over his violet eyes and he stepped back.

"He's right. If there is a safe place for her to be, why can't it be with us?" Cream reasoned.

"So Cream, you're alright with her staying here then?" Tails asked.

Cream nodded.

Tails then looked to the red echidna, "Knuckles?"

"I still think it's a bad idea." Knuckles shook his head.

"I guess it's up to me to decide then…" Tails said as he closed his eyes.

Seth's voice rang out from the walls, "Hey, what about me? Don't I get a vote?"

"You're a computer, it doesn't count." Knuckles stated.

"Of course it does, he has every right to vote as we do." Cream defended.

"Thank you, Cream." Seth voiced.

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "Really?"

"Okay so what do you think, Seth?" Tails asked.

"Well, I see both point of views…but whatever Tails thinks is best, he is the base leader after all."

"Ha! See? You're just back to square one again." Knuckles laughed.

"Thank you, for summing that up." Tails sighed.

The fox leaned forward to try and think, his head resting on his hands.

Finally he made a decision. "Okay…so…"

The fox stood up and looked at his friends. "Nikki's staying."

"What?" Knuckles said dumbfounded.

"You heard him." Cream smiled.

Tails then looked at Knuckles, "And _**you**_ are training her."

"Again, What?"

"Knuckles, you're the one here that has the most fighting experience." Tails reasoned.

"Bull shit! You knew Sonic better than I did, you can train her!"

"Um, _**no **_he's not." Cream interrupted. She then turned and looked at Tails. "And we all know why."

"Well, I'm not doing it. I refuse."

"Oh, come on Knuckles. What have you got to lose?" Tails asked.

Knuckles crossed his arms. "Well, if she's anything like her father…my sanity for one."

"Knuckles seriously?" Cream begged.

"You know, you did promise Sonic." Tails remembered.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Knuckles said stubbornly.

"Now when was it…oh that's right, when he found out he was going to be a father remember." Tails gave him a 'you know what I'm talking about' look.

Knuckles was trying not to remember, but he couldn't help it. It was eight years ago, about six months before…the day he disappeared. He remembered that day as if it had just happened.

* * *

Sonic was sitting at one of his usual relaxing spots in the mountains when Knuckles tracked him down.

"Tails told me I might find you here." The red echidna came and sat next to him. "So, are you nervous?"

"Eh, not really." The blue hedgehog casually said as he stared at the clouds.

"Has it even sank in for you yet?" Knuckles laughed.

"Kind of, actually…I think I might be ready for this."

" 'You think'? Okay, you are nervous."

"It's all easy for you to say, you already have a kid."

Knuckles just shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah true."

"So, how are they doing by the way?" Sonic asked curiously.

"Oh they're great. Su's a handful, but Julie knows what she's doing. Sometimes I have no idea how she does it, taking care of a one year old."

The blue hedgehog then leaned forward. Something, among many other things at the moment, was on his mind. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?" Knuckles looked at his friend. "Sure, what is it?"

"Well…You know how I can't swim, right?"

"Ha, ha, of course. Everyone knows that." Knuckles laughed.

"Exactly…"

Knuckles noticed that Sonic was serious. It was very rare that Sonic was serious about anything, but Knuckles knew first hand that becoming a father was a serious thing.

"That's why I want to ask…do you think you could teach my kid to swim?"

Knuckles gave him a slightly confused look as Sonic continued. "You know I would teach them myself if I could."

"I'm not sure if I-"

"Ah come on Knux, you're the best swimmer there is right?" Sonic said with a smile.

Knuckles smiled and then sighed. "Okay, okay…I'll teach them."

* * *

Knuckles found himself back in the base with Tails waiting for his response. Of course he figured that Sonic told Tails, they were 'brothers' after all.

Knuckles let out a huge annoyed sigh. "Alright, Alright."

He shook his head and muttered under his breath. "I just know I'm gonna regret this…"

He then rolled his eyes. "I'll train her."

Tails smiled, "Thanks Knuckles."

"Yeah, yeah whatever." The red echidna ran toward the stairs and leaped up to the top of the stairway.

"Well, I better turn in then." He stretched at the top of the stairs.

"Alright, we'll see you in the morning." Tails called back.

Cream then smiled, "Good night."

Knuckles then walked into his room and closed the door.

Tails was about to walk into his room, when Cream stopped him. "Nah uh, we need to talk."

_Damn I thought she would've forgotten about that._

He sighed and looked at her. "Alright, I'm listening."

"Tails, I'm worried about you. You can't keep working this late, you need rest."

"You know you don't have to worry about me."

"As the medical officer of this establishment, that's my job."

"Exactly. You have your job and I have mine. I have to make sure that everything is working."

"You can't do everything Tails, especially after-" Cream couldn't finish what she was going to say.

Tails understood Cream's concern. But he also knew he couldn't just sit around and do nothing while Surge and his army were out there plotting destruction around the clock. He walked over to Cream, his kind eyes showing unfailing strength.

"Two months…at least promise me that." Cream's voice was cracking. She knew that she couldn't convince Tails to completely step back, but if he just relaxed until then…maybe it would be easier.

Tails' eyelids fell over his blue eyes as he considered Cream's request. "I promise you…I'll take it easy. Okay?"

Cream nodded, not quite the answer she was looking for, but it was a start. Tails always kept his word, so she knew he meant it.

Finally Tails started walking back toward his room. "Starting now."

He smiled back at her then turned to continue to his room, suddenly one of the voice panels on the wall blew a circuit. Tails looked at it surprised. Of course the one time he says he'll 'take it easy', something falls apart.

Cream was afraid he was going to go back on his promise and fix the intercom right then and there, but Tails pointed to it and replied. "That, can wait till tomorrow."

He then waved back to her. "See you in the morning."

The fox then continued to his room and Cream breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Tails walked into his room and closed the door behind him. The fox took a deep breath, slowly took his hand off the door and walked toward the bed in the center of the room. He then took off his lab coat and a black vest was revealed underneath. Running down the spine of the vest, were dim blue lights that seemed to change their brightness after every breath Tails took. He took another deep breath as he took the vest off. The lights on the vest turned off and Tails felt a sharp agonizing pain shoot through his back. Holding the vest in one hand, he griped the side of the bed with the other.

_You'd think after three years this would be easier…_

He regained control, pushing the pain further into the back of his mind.

…_Cream's right…maybe a couple months' rest will do me good…_

Over the years, Tails had gotten pretty good at hiding his emotions from those around him. But with Nikki's arrival, old memories threatened to resurface once again. He sat down on the corner of his bed and tried to collect himself. Ever since Sonic died, it was up to him to step up and lead everyone in the right direction. So, he couldn't let himself breakdown, not now…not ever.

…_Keep it together…you got this…_

Tails told himself. He could remember that Sonic had told him things like that all the time. Even when he thought everything was hopeless, his 'brother' always believed in him. He looked at a picture of the two of them on the nightstand next to him.

…_I'll protect her…I promise…_

* * *

Author's Note: Yikes, it looks like a lot has been placed on Tails' shoulders.

In the next Chapter, we'll find out what happened to Tails.


	6. Chapter 6: Scars

I should warn you now, don't try anything that these characters do at home…ever.

* * *

_**Chapter 6: Scars**_

* * *

_**Narrator: None, third person format**_

Nikki was trying to sleep, but she couldn't find a way to get comfortable. After tossing and turning for at least thirty minutes, she sighed. "Why can't I sleep? This wasn't a problem with my old bed-"

And that's when it hit her. "Oh duh, I'm used to sleeping on the top bunk."

She looked over the side of the bed. "This bed is too close to the floor."

The young hedgehog thought for a minute. Then she came up with an idea. She took the sheet off of the bed and tied each corner to each of the bed posts to the canopy bed.

She then jumped up and laid back in her makeshift hammock. "Much better."

Nikki closed her eyes and found herself drifting to sleep.

The young hedgehog awoke to flickering lights. She leaned forward to see where the light was coming from.

It was her table lamp, there must've been a short in the circuit. "Seth, I think the wires in this place are messed up."

Nikki waited for a response, but nothing came. "Seth?"

She listened for a moment, then just shrugged it of and laid back down.

_I guess computers need sleep too._

She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the random light changing in the room. She was slightly awakened yet again by the door closing to her room. She opened one eye, still too tired to fully wake up. Suddenly, as the light flickered again she saw a blade coming right toward her. Her eyes sprung open and she jumped back off of the bed. The blade sliced right through and was about to come back and hit her, but she rolled and dodged it. She tried to dodge again, but the robot grabbed her and braced her against the wall. As the young hedgehog struggled to get herself free, the robot pushed her further into the wall.

_**So, you're the pest that took out one of my best trackers?… **_The menacing robot looked her over, obviously not impressed in the least. _**I would've expected more of a fight out of you.**_

This robot looked different than the others she saw on the way to the base. It was sleeker, faster, and much stronger. It also looked more humanoid than the others as well. When the robot leaned in closer Nikki kicked it square in the face, but it had no effect.

_**Is that really the best you can do, rodent?**_

Suddenly they hear a knock on the door. "Nikki? Are you alright?"

_Cream? _Nikki didn't know what to do, she didn't want Cream to get hurt.

_**Well now who is that?**_

"Nikki? Is someone in there?" Cream's voice sounded more worried.

_**Lets invite her in shall we?**_

"No! Run, get out-!" The robot pushed Nikki further into the wall, cutting off her airway.

The door suddenly busted open and Cream aimed a gun straight at the robot's head. She fired and the bullet hit straight into the robot's eye. The force blew the robot clear across the room and Nikki dropped to the floor.

Cream ran over to her, "Nikki, are you okay?"

The young hedgehog gasped for a breath and looked at her.

"Cream?" she coughed.

Relieved that she was alive, Cream embraced the young hedgehog. "Oh, thank Mobius!"

Cream nearly jumped when she heard the robot get back on it's metallic feet. "Shit!"

The rabbit dashed out the door, carrying Nikki in her arms. She fired a few more shots behind her as the robot came up on her tail.

Hearing the gunshots, Knuckles came running out of his room, jumped over Cream and plowed the robot into the ground. He then jumped back and stood in front of the girls.

"That wont work, he regenerates." Cream warned him.

Sure enough, the robot got back on it's feet and the bent metal reshaped itself to it's former state. Even the bullet holes were repaired.

"Well, that's crap." Knuckles plainly stated.

The young hedgehog looked as the robot reshaped itself to it's former form. Haunting memories began to flood her mind and, even though she wasn't planning on shouting out loud, she couldn't help it.

"Just run!" Nikki yelled. "It's me it wants!" She couldn't stand the thought of losing them.

Knuckles looked at the robot defiantly, "I don't run."

_**Then you will be easy to kill.**_

The robot leaped forward and drove Knuckles into the floor. The upstairs floor gave way and both the robot and the echidna fell to the second floor. Knuckles' head hit the floor first and he was knocked out cold.

"Knuckles!" Cream leaned over the hole, but as soon as she saw the light of the robot's eyes she pushed herself back. Just after Cream jumped out of the way, a laser was fire straight up that would have hit her if she stayed where she was.

Nikki ran to the side of the balcony, jumped over the banister and landed gracefully on the ground floor. She looked at the robot standing over the red echidna.

Out of instinct, the young hedgehog dashed forward. "Back off!"

She spun as fast as she could and slammed into the robot, knocking it right off it's feet. The robot turned and looked at Nikki. She noticed the red glow and dodged as the laser fired in her direction. The young hedgehog jumped back and dashed toward the door to the hanger. The robot followed close behind her. Swiftly Nikki opened the door, ran inside and slammed the metal door behind her. She then ran away from the door and then landed both feet on the side of the nearest plane. The robot broke the lock on the door and tried to swing the door open, but Nikki was way ahead of it and pushed off the plane toward the door. She spun and hit the metal door, slamming it shut into the robot's face. The force pushed the robot back, but all she did was make it mad.

The robot plowed through the door. Nikki had already jumped away from the door before hand, but the robot grabbed her and shoved her into the floor. This time, Nikki had no way out.

_**Let's see you weasel your way out of this, brat!**_

Nikki struggled as much as she could, but the robot's grip was too strong for her.

_**Relax, I'm not going to kill you…I'm going to tear every Freedom Fighter in this base apart first, and then by the time I'm done with you…you will be begging me to kill you!**_

Suddenly, Nikki felt a different energy surge through her. This wasn't like the energy before with the Chaos Drive, she didn't even have one on her. This energy had a darker feel to it, she could feel her heartbeat ring in her ears. Fueled by anger and fear for her friends,

Nikki grabbed the robot's arm and began to push the robot's hand off of her.

"Don't…you…_**Dare!"**_

The Exus robot was shocked by Nikki's new found strength. As soon as she had enough room to move, Nikki jumped up and then drove herself right through the robot without mercy. Sharp spikes extended from her back and her forearms. She then began to spin and then charged at the murderous monster. Nikki had turned herself into a free running chainsaw!

The dark blue blades sliced right through the metal and wire. Nikki suddenly regained focus and stopped herself. She jumped over the robot and landed behind it. Nikki was shocked by her own actions. She was aware of what she had just done and it scared her. But even though the robot was unrecognizable, the mess of metal began to move yet again and reshaped itself.

_**As long as there is one shred of me left…you will never succeed.**_

_Okay, that's so not fair. _Nikki thought to herself.

"Well then, let's even the playing field…shall we?" The voice came from the back of the hanger.

Nikki looked past the robot and saw her savior. "Tails!"

Before she could say another word, a strange massive machine came up from under the hanger floor. It was so large that took almost a quarter of the hanger space.

Tails had his hand on the lever of the machine. "Nikki! Roll left!"

Nikki did as she was told and barrel rolled to the left.

"Get out of my house." Tails pulled the lever and a light flickered inside the long barrel of the machine.

Suddenly a beam almost the size of the machine itself blasted out of the cannon and blew the robot right through the hanger door and clean out of the base.

The force of the blast was so strong that, even though she was out of range, it almost pulled Nikki into it. "Tails!"

Tails quickly turned the machine off and Nikki fell back onto the floor with a thud. As soon as the machine turned off, the light from it faded and plugged the room into darkness.

Tails rushed to her side. "Nikki." He was worried about her.

Nikki just sat up, looked at him and smiled. "That was awesome."

Tails smiled back. "Yep, you're your father's daughter alright."

Nikki then stood up and brushed herself off. "So, how did that creep get in here, anyway?"

She started fixing her gloves as Tails answered her, "It must've damaged the wiring to the security system."

Nikki instantly stopped brushing herself off. "Then Seth-?"

"Don't worry, Seth's fine. I planned ahead for this sort of thing. The instant the wires are cut or someone breaks through the security firewall, Seth's personality file is stored in another hard drive and a defense file is put up."

Nikki gave him a confusing look. Tails instantly knew she had no idea what he was talking about, Sonic often gave him that same look when he lost him in his tech talk. "We'll to make a long story short, he's safe."

"That's good." Nikki smiled. She didn't really care to understand it, Jodi talked like that all the time, so she was used to it…sort of.

Tails started to try and get up, but soon found himself not getting very far before pain shot through his back again. When he heard the fighting outside, he had ran so fast out of his room that he didn't even have time to put his spinal vest on.

He tried to hide it from the young hedgehog, but Tails couldn't help but cringe. "Ahh!"

"Tails?" Nikki reached out to help him. She was just a little girl, she had no idea what was happening to Tails and it scared her. It didn't help that it was too dark for her to see either.

_What happened? Did that robot get to him before sneaking in?_

"Don't worry…I'm okay…" Tails reassured. "…don't be afraid…"

In that instant, a bright light came from the door leading into the living room.

The familiar figure of the red echidna behind it. "Hey, are you both alright in here?"

"Yeah, we're okay." Tails said before Nikki could say anything else.

Knuckles then turned to the panel next to the door. That was when it was apparent that Knuckles wasn't carrying a flashlight, it was his right eye that giving him light. "Ah crud, Tails what wire was it again?"

"It's the red one."

"Honestly, even I remembered that." Cream teased as she stepped into the room.

"Well, I'm never here as often as you are." Knuckles defended as he worked to reattach the wires. "Half the time I have no idea whether or not you guys change things around here. Just last week, the coffee machine shot a laser at me."

"Actually, that wasn't the coffee machine. I was experimenting on something and left it on the counter, Sorry." Tails gave an apologetic smile.

"Ugh for crying out loud, see what I mean?" Knuckles finally got the wire fixed. "There."

The lights suddenly flickered back on.

"Nice job, Knux." Tails congratulated.

"Don't push it."

Cream instantly ran to Nikki's side, frantic. "Oh, are you okay? That thing didn't hurt you, did it?-"

Cream probably would've kept going if Nikki didn't interrupt her. She laughed a little. "I'm fine, I'm okay. And no, that thing didn't hurt me."

Cream let out a huge sigh of relief, "Oh good."

Nikki looked to Tails, now she could see why Tails cringed earlier. The fox had a long, thin scar that ran from his right shoulder to his left side.

Tails noticed her worried look. "Hmm? What?"

Nikki noticed that she was staring and looked away, "Oh, it's nothing."

"Well, the night's not over yet." Tails then looked to the red echidna. "Knuckles, you check the perimeter. If an Exus officer found a way in, there's no doubt that there might be more outside."

Knuckles gave a nod and ran toward the hanger door. He then jumped through the giant hole in the door and ran outside.

"Cream…" Tails kind of trailed off. Cream had her arms crossed and was looking at him.

She then rolled her eyes. "Alright, because it's an emergency I'll excuse your recovery leave."

"Thanks." Tails smiled. "Now, I'm gonna need you to assess damages on the inside…at least until I can get Seth back online again."

"I'm on it." Cream ran back into the living room and closed the door. She already knew that there wasn't much she could do to repair the inside of the base, like the top floor for instance, but she figured that Tails wanted to talk to Nikki alone. She figured the poor girl was scared enough and didn't need to hear her yell at Tails about his injuries.

After she left, Tails sighed and turned to Nikki. "Now I hate to ask this of you, but could you get something for me?"

"Sure."

Tails pointed to his room, "Through that door, there's a black vest on the bed. Could you bring it to me? I'd get it myself, but…I'll explain after."

"Okay, be back in a flash." Nikki dashed as quickly as she could into the room. With all the lights on now, it was easy for her to see the black vest.

She quickly picked it up and brought straight to Tails in nothing flat. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Tails said with appreciation as she handed him the vest.

He gently put the vest on and the blue lights came back on the spine of the vest. The fox took a deep breath and stood up with no trouble. "Alright, now lets see…"

The fox looked around, thinking where he should start in this mess. "If we get Seth back online, he can at least help fix this place back up."

He then looked at the gapping hole in the hanger door and rubbed the back of his head thinking. "Should really fix that first though. Hmm…"

Tails thought for a moment and then made his decision. He then turned to Nikki. "So, wanna help me wake up Seth?"

Nikki gave him a thumbs up, "You bet."

Tails smiled at her, though he couldn't help but think it was weird though. She did act almost exactly like Sonic.

He walked back toward the cannon's lever. "Right…"

He then placed his hand on it. "Let's get this out of the way first."

He pulled the lever up and the cannon descended back down under the hanger floor. The floor closed up over it.

About a half hour had passed and Tails already was almost done getting Seth back online. He was just making the last minute adjustments to one of the security panels.

"Almost there. Pass me the pliers."

Nikki handed the pliers to Tails and took the wire cutters from his hand. "Thanks."

"So…what happened? Well it's probably not my business."

"No, no, it's fine. I understand. I probably scared you back there, sorry about that. I did say that I would tell you. Well, the truth is I don't remember much about it. You'll more than likely get more details out of Knuckles than me, he was there and remembers the whole thing."

Tails focused a little more on the small wire that he was repairing. "Just a little more and…"

All of a sudden the lights flickered and Tails could hear the distant mainframe warm up. "Got it."

"Good morning, Seth." Tails greeted.

The computer yawned, obviously not needing to, but Tails had given him a personality after all. "Good morning, Sir. Did I miss anything?"

"Oh nothing really." Tails replied.

"Then why is there a huge hole in the hanger door?" The computer asked.

"He, he, well…just a minor break in is all. If you don't mind, could you-?"

Tails didn't need to finish his question, "Right away, Sir."

Just in that instant, mechanical arms came down from the ceiling and began wielding the door.

In the next room, Cream and Knuckles were trying to fix the upstairs floor when they notice Seth's voice coming from the hanger.

"Hey! Seth's back!" Cream said excited.

"Great, maybe he can actually fix this stupid-" As Knuckles was standing up, the floor he just repaired broke through and he fell along with it. "Whoa!"

Cream cringed as she heard the debris, as well as Knuckles, crash to the bottom floor. She could hear him curse numerous times from where she was.

Tails and Nikki heard the crash and came running in, "What happened?"

"Knuckles broke the floor again."

"I did not!" Knuckles defended as he tried to pry his foot loose from the wood and debris.

"So, did you find anything?" Tails asked Knuckles.

"Well, you were right. There were a few of them around the base, but nothing I couldn't handle alone. Funny though, I thought there would be more than that."

"They must've seen the beam from the cannon and fled." Tails supposed.

"That's good, they should leave us alone for little while." Cream said with optimism.

Tails looked over at the clock on the wall. "Well, it's already morning. So, what do you guys think, wanna stay up or turn in?"

"I'm already up, doesn't make a difference to me." Knuckles stated as he shrugged.

"I'll start making breakfast." Cream jumped down from the top floor and ran into the kitchen.

Knuckles let out a sigh, because he already knew what Tails was going to ask him. "I'll get started on training Nikki. Come on kid, lets go."

He was about to walk off when Tails stopped him. "Wait."

Knuckles turned and looked at him as Tails continued, "Could you give us a few minutes? There's something important that I have to discuss with her first."

Knuckles nodded. "I'll be outside."

The echidna then dashed out the living room door.

Tails turned to the small hedgehog, "Now Nikki…"

He kneeled down next to her so that he was eye level with her. "I know you came all this way and we all deeply care about your safety-"

Nikki was about to say something, but he held his hand up to stop her. "Ah, before you get mad, let me finish."

Tails then continued. "I think that I should let you decide what you want to do. After everything that happened last night…do you still want to stay? If you don't, we all will understand and I promise, I'll take you somewhere safe."

Nikki looked at him and smiled. "You can't get rid of me that easy, Tails."

She then gave him a thumbs up. "I'm staying."

Tails smiled and then stood up. "Then we're glad to have you."

Cream couldn't help but overhear from the kitchen. "But Tails, what about the orphanage? I'm sure their probably worried about her."

"You're right…" Tails then walked toward the door to the hanger. "The least we could do is let them know she's okay."

He then looked back at Nikki, "Nikki, go ahead and start training with Knuckles. I'll be back soon."

"Wait, you're actually _going_ there?" Cream stuck her head out of the kitchen door.

"The phones don't work right now, so the only option is to go there." Tails reasoned.

"Alright, just be careful."

Tails walked out to the hanger and started to get one of the planes ready to take off.

Knuckles saw him and ran over. "What's up?"

"I'm going out for a bit, I'll be back." Tails started to climb into the cockpit when remembered something. "Oh, and there one thing I need to tell you…"

Knuckles waited to hear what Tails had to say. "…Nikki has a question for you, I told her it was alright. I would explain more, but I don't have time."

Knuckles sighed, "Alright."

Tails jumped into the cockpit and closed the glass top. He could hear Knuckles yell over the engine, "Be careful out there!"

Tails gave him nod and replied over the intercom. "You too."

The plane then took off with blinding speed out the hanger door, through the cave and into the sky.

Sometime later, Knuckles is walking Nikki to the training grounds when he remembered what Tails had told him earlier. _Nikki has something to ask you._

Knuckles shook his head. _I'm going to regret this, aren't I? _"Well, what is it?"

Nikki wasn't fully paying attention at the moment, "Hmm?"

"You had something you wanted to ask me, what was it?" Knuckles asked again with just a hint of impatience behind his voice.

"Oh, I…wanted to know what happened to Tails."

Knuckles instantly stopped walking as Nikki continued. "He said that I should ask you."

Knuckles' eyelids fell and he let out huge sigh. "Alright sit."

Nikki found a spot by a nearby tree and sat down. Knuckles leaned against a tree right across from her. He opened his eyes, they looked almost distant like he was somewhere else.

"It was three years ago…"

_**Narrator: Knuckles**_

Tails had just gotten a call from an old ally of ours, Rouge. She needed us to get to Station Square right away. At this time, Cream wasn't completely a part of our group, so it was up to Tails and I to check it out. Rouge and I sort of got off on the wrong foot when we last saw each other, but she was still a friend of ours none the less. We took Tails' X Tornado and headed there as fast as we could.

"Where the hell are you guys?" Rouge sounded like she was frightened, I had never heard that coming from her before.

"We're on our way, just hold on." Tails tried to calm her down. "So, what are we dealing with here?"

"It's G.U.N., some of their robots have gone absolutely crazy! They think that Shadow is behind the attacks recently!"

"What?" Tails and I both found ourselves yelling at the same time. "That's ridiculous! He was with us!"

"Well, they don't seem to think so." There was gun fire on the other line and we heard a scream. "Ahh! Guys, you seriously need to get here. Fast!"

"Hang on Knuckles, I'm punching it!" Tails yelled from the cockpit and I grabbed the wing as tightly as I could.

I had no idea how Sonic was able to stand on the wing so easily, I found myself having a difficult time just holding onto the darn thing. It wasn't long before G.U.N. jets were on our tail. There was no warning, no word at all from them. Usually, they would at least tell us we were in a 'no fly' zone or something, but they just started shooting at us.

"What the hell?" I yelled back at them.

"This the X Tornado to G.U.N. Eagle 1, you guys are making a mistake!" Tails tried to reason with them. "Stand down!"

But they just kept pressing on. Tails was doing a great job making sure that I wasn't hit by any stray bullets. Finally he put up a shield and tried to shake them off our tail.

"They're not responding!" I could tell by Tails' expression that something wasn't right. They knew the X Tornado was on _their_ side. They shouldn't be acting this way.

He then tried to get a hold of Rouge. "Rouge…Rouge, do you copy?"

"Where are you?" Rouge yelled.

"Were trying to get there, but there are fighters on our tail. I can't shake them. Is there anywhere I can land?" Tails was keeping calm, I still have no idea how he managed to do that. Even though he was still a kid to me, he really wasn't a kid anymore.

"Try around the back of the base. There should be enough space there."

"Thanks Rouge." He then hung up the radio. "Hold on, Knuckles."

The X Tornado spun around and flew toward the other side of the base. Strangely, as soon as we made it toward the destination, the fighters backed off and head straight back to base.

"We're almost there Rouge, just hang on." Tails started to level out when we both heard something on the other line that made our fur stand up.

"Good-Omega no, stop!"

Tails and I both looked at each other. Last I could remember, Shadow and Omega were on the same team. If Omega turned against Shadow…

Tails quickly began descending down to get me close enough to jump off, he would find a place to land later. "Get ready to jump!"

We were almost close to the ground when out of nowhere, a dark robot appeared. It didn't look anything like the G.U.N. robots, nor did it look like any of Eggman's robots. It was slender and sleek, it looked like something that would be a match for Sonic. Tails and I both knew it couldn't have belonged to him anyway, Eggman was long gone. That still didn't change the fact that it was right in front our path and Tails was flying too fast to stop!

"Tails!"

Everything was happening so fast, but it all seemed to move in slow motion at the same time. Tails gave me one last look and then turned the plane so that my side was away from the robot, leaving his side completely exposed.

The robot sliced right through the front right wing and the plane lost altitude. It drove into the ground nose first, but was still gaining momentum and the backend of the plane came back over it. The plane barrel rolled nose to tail for what seemed to be hours, but had to be at least a few minutes. Then one of the remaining wings hit the ground, causing it to barrel sideways for an extended amount of time. I could see large chunks of debris fly right off the plane. Just when I thought it wasn't ever going to stop, it finally barrel rolled one last time, splitting the plane in half. I was pinned down and covered by debris metal, but could still hear the cockpit of the plane rolling further away, before finally skidding to a screeching stop.

I was dazed and injured, but I still managed to push my way out of the rubble. I caught my second wind and looked around. It looked like a battle had just taken place. Almost everything was scorched and the plane was unrecognizable and scattered all around the deserted landscape. It was a miracle that we weren't engulfed in flames after that.

That's when I remembered, Tails was trapped in the cockpit. "Tails!"

I called out to him, hoping he would answer back. _**"Tails!" **_

Still no answer.

Before all of this had happened, my right eye was badly damaged in an attack, so doctors had replaced it with a cybernetic one. It looked like the eye I had before, but I could now use it to scan and track anything I wanted. I scanned the area, looking for any signs of life. The cockpit was still in tacked, for the most part. As I ran toward it, I zoomed in.

The scanner picked up traces of blood on a piece of shrapnel sticking out of the cockpit. "No."

I sprinted toward the mangled cockpit. There was Tails, lying face down with a long piece of metal sticking through his back.

I quickly took out a Chaos Emerald and tried to heal what I could. I knew I couldn't heal him completely, but I was hoping I could at least heal the kid enough for me to get him back to base. "Come on kid, don't do this. Not you too."

I kept scanning him to see any signs of improvement. If he was dead, the Chaos Emerald would do nothing for him. But if he was still alive…then maybe…

Suddenly, I picked up a faint heartbeat. It worked.

I was really hoping he would stay asleep through all this, but I saw his eyes open a little.

"…Knu…ckles…"

The poor guy looked so weak, so helpless. _Ah man, why did he have to wake up now?_

"Hang on kid, I'm getting you out of here…Well somehow."

"…take it out…"

_Okay, now he's lost it. _"What?"

"…just take it out…I…I'll be okay…"

"Won't that do more harm than good? I could kill you!"

"…Knux please…I can't…breathe…"

Reluctantly, I grabbed the top of the metal blade and could feel blood still trickling down onto my hand. I would've closed my eyes, but I didn't want to cause anymore harm. I gave one swift tug and the metal shrapnel came right out. The kid barely even flinched. I was surprised by that, even I would've screamed bloody murder after that. But I figured that he was already so far gone, that he was numb from blood loss. I swiftly knelt back down and continued healing him.

As soon as he felt the energy surge through him, he took a deep breath. "…Th…Thank you…"

"I'm not sure if I can fix all this. I'm gonna have to take you back."

"…but…what about Rouge?…and Shadow…we can't leave them…"

"Right now you're in no condition to move, let alone fight."

"…then leave me…"

"What?"

"…I said, leave me…go find Rouge…I'll be fine…"

"I can't leave you like this."

"You've healed me enough…" Tails struggled to sit up and leaned against what was left of the cockpit. "…I'll survive. Now go check on the others."

I hated to admit it, but he was right. Rouge was counting on us and we lost too much time as it is because of the crash. She could be dying somewhere in there for all we knew.

I stood up and took a few steps back. "I'll come back for you."

Tails gave me a smile, how he could be smiling after that I still never understood. "Not like I'm going anywhere."

It wasn't till that moment I realized how much Tails had grown. I never noticed it until now. I couldn't help but think of one thing…Sonic would've been proud of him. I gave a weak smile in return and then ran off to find my way into the base…

_**Narrator: None, third person format**_

"Did you find Rouge?" Nikki interrupted.

"I was getting there." Knuckles gave her slightly irritated look.

"Sorry."

"Yes, I did find her. But we were too late, Omega had already captured Shadow and he had knocked Rouge out cold. The strangest thing was that all the G.U.N. machines that were there just disappeared. We never saw another G.U.N. robot since then."

Knuckles stopped to make sure that Nikki was still paying attention. "Well, obviously you know that Tails made it. I went back for him like I promised and took him back to base. As I had feared, the healing I gave him wasn't enough to help him. The only damage that was left un-repaired was his spinal cord where the blade had first penetrated. Doctors tried to fix it, but…nothing worked. So, naturally Tails came with his own solution."

"The vest." Nikki interrupted again.

Knuckles excused it and nodded. "It helps, but it doesn't completely fix the problem."

"So, will he ever get better?"

"That's hard to say. It has only been three years and he does seem to be improving…but he keeps pushing himself too hard."

"And that's why Cream worries about him."

Knuckles nodded. He then stood up and stretched. "Well, that's enough storytelling I think."

The echidna then crossed his arms and gave her a determined look. "What you say we start training?"

Nikki jumped up in an instant. "Sweet."

* * *

Author's Note: Wow, Tails has come a long way from the small kid fox we remember.

Next Chapter, Tails meets Mrs. Stern. This outta be good. *laughs* and there might actually be some concerns with Nikki being able to stay with the Freedom Fighters.

Updated Author's Note: Please excuse the off Chapter numbers. I am currently merging chapters, so the ones from this point on are not the correct numbers, but they are still in order. I will fix them as I catch up in editing chapters.


	7. Chapter 7:  Home

Here it is, Chapter 7. A lot of emotional stuff is supposed to happen here. anyway, you'll see.

Thank you Alexia the Hedgehog for reviewing :) And thank you all for reading.

* * *

_**Chapter 7: Home**_

* * *

_**Narrator: None, third person format.**_

"This looks like a good spot." Knuckles scanned the area around him. "No sign of any rust buckets for miles."

He then turned to Nikki. "So, first we need to know what we've got to work with. What are your weaknesses?"

Nikki thought for a second. "Well…I guess there is one thing…I can't swim."

Knuckles laughed, "Ha, ha! Just like your dad."

"That's not funny." Nikki defended.

"Okay, okay, back to business. Now, how about strengths? Is there anything you can do?"

"Well I can run really fast."

"How fast?"

"I don't know the exact speed."

"If you had to guess."

"Umm…" Nikki tried to remember one time when Jodi calculated how her fastest speed. "Oh! 300 miles an hour."

Knuckles shook his head. "Not fast enough."

"What?"

"Your father could run easily at the speed of sound. That's no where near close enough. And besides, that's not a strength, it's a weakness."

Nikki gave him a really confusing look.

"Most of the Exus robots use motion as their main sense. They scan for anything that moves faster than average. Not only that, they can shot anything moving as fast as Sonic. So, I hate to break it to ya, but you're either going to have to run faster than your father, which is impossible, or we're going to have to find something else to focus on."

"Well, actually…there is one more thing. I found a Chaos Drive on the way to the base and when I was attacked I used that to stop the robot."

"You did what?" Knuckles had never heard of this before.

"Yeah, it worked pretty well."

Knuckles was surprised by this. The last he checked, only Chao can use Chaos Drives to get power. So, how was Nikki able to get power from them? Chaos Drives just don't have that much power.

"We'll have to check that out later, that could be useful." Knuckles then got back to the situation at hand. "Alright, lets work on your first weakness. Water."

Nikki gave a slightly shocked look. She didn't like where this was going.

A few moments later, Knuckles led Nikki to a lake that was nearby.

"Okay Nikki, I'm going to teach you how to swim the way my parents taught me. I'm gonna throw you into this lake and you are gonna try and swim."

"Say what? I don't remember agreeing to this!"

Suddenly, Knuckles throws her in. "Just don't forget to kick!"

"Gahh! Knuckles what are doing I can't-!" Nikki hit the water before she could finish.

She was panicking, trying desperately to keep her head above water. "I'm gonna drown! Knuckles!"

"You wont trust me!"

"Trust you? You just threw me in a lake and you want me to trust gmmrmm!" She felt herself almost sink into the water.

_What a minute…what am I doing? I just need to calm down. Now, what was it that Knuckles said?…kick!_

Nikki started to kick as hard as she could. It wasn't graceful, but she found herself back up at the surface of the water and gasped for air. She then realized that she wasn't sinking anymore.

"Ha! Knuckles look! I'm doing it, I'm swimming!" Nikki was excited. This was actually quite fun once you get used to it.

"Good…" Then Knuckles gave her a smirk. "…You can stand up now."

Nikki was confused, what the heck was he talking about? She then stood up and noticed that she was never in any real danger, Knuckles had purposely thrown her to a spot in the lake that was shallow.

Her confusion turned to slight anger. "Knuckles! You're gonna get it when I get out of here!"

"You'll have to swim here first." Knuckles was unfazed by the little girl's threat.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tails was on his way to the orphanage.

He looked around the forest landscape. "It's gotta be around here somewhere."

Suddenly he saw the building ahead of him. "There it is."

He flew closer to the building, but quickly realized that there was something covering it. "…a shield?"

Suddenly, Tails heard a voice coming from a loud speaker. "Who are you? State your business."

"I am Miles Prower, of the Freedom Fighters. I have something important to discuss with the one in charge here."

"Wait, _the _Miles 'Tails' Prower?"

"That's right."

Suddenly, the electric shield went down, but only as far as half of the building. "You may enter, please land on the roof."

Tails hovered his plane over the roof and landed easily. He then climbed out of the cockpit as a young ferret came to greet him.

"It is an honor to meet you Mr. Prower."

"Thank you, Miss…"

"Oh, I'm Jodi Ferret."

"Well nice to meet you." Tails smiled.

"Oh, that's right. You wanted to see Mrs. Stern. Right this way."

Tails followed her down the stairs. "So how long has this place had that shield?"

"Actually it's new."

"It's amazing. I mean the polarized electric current and everything."

Tails could barely notice Jodi blush. "Well…I…"

He looked at her. "Did you…?"

"Umm well, yeah kind of." Jodi was a lot shyer than Nikki, especially around people she didn't know. But she was also more nervous because Tails was her hero. When it came to mechanics, Tails was the best and for him to say that something she made was amazing well, she just couldn't help but stagger over her words.

"Wow, you have some real talent."

"Y-you think so?"

"You bet."

"Oh, well…thank you." Jodi was really blushing now. She was so distracted in fact that she almost past by Mrs. Stern's office door. "Oh! Wait here we are."

"Thank you Miss Jodi." Tails nodded as he stepped in front of the door.

"Keep up the good work."

"I will, bye Mr. Prower."

"Umm, just call me Tails." Tails smiled.

"Okay, bye Tails." Jodi quickly ran around the corner to leave Tails to his meeting with Mrs. Stern.

Tails took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

A voice came from the other side. "Well, come in."

Tails opened the door and walked in. Mrs. Stern was sitting at her desk at the far end of the room. "So, what brings you here Mister…?"

"Miles 'Tails' Prower."

"Well Mr. Prower. Please have a seat."

Tails sat down in the chair across from the desk.

"Well, I'm here to tell you about Nikki."

"You found her?"

"Actually, she kind of found us."

"I hope she hasn't given you any trouble."

"Oh no, no trouble at all. In fact, I came here asking if it would be possible to adopt her."

Mrs. Stern gave Tails a leery look. "Really?"

"Yes. Why, is that a problem?" Tails wasn't particularly liking Mrs. Stern's attitude, but he stayed polite for Nikki's sake.

"Well, let me check her paperwork." She walked over to a filing cabinet in the corner of the room.

She unlocked it and took out a folder. "Here we are, Sonic the second."

She walked back over to the desk and opened the folder. "Lets see…"

She looked through the papers. As she looked she kept looking at Tails and then looking back at the paperwork.

She then leaned back in her chair. "Well, this is interesting…"

Tails waited patiently for what Mrs. Stern was going to say. He wasn't too happy about what he heard. "It appears that Nikki already has a guardian. They just never came to claim her."

"I see…" Tails was doing a good job to keep his composure, but he was disappointed.

* * *

One hour after they left, Knuckles and Nikki returned to base. Cream was there, waiting for them to come back.

"Oh good, you both are alright." She suddenly stopped when she noticed that Nikki was wet from head to two. "What happened?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Nikki just brushed it off.

She also looked at Knuckles, who was also soaked. "And what happened to you?"

Knuckles didn't look as calm as Nikki did, in fact he looked irritated. "It rained."

Nikki laughed a little, knowing full well that's not what happened at all.

Nikki then looked around and noticed that one of the planes was missing. "Tails isn't back yet?"

"No, not yet." She quickly changed the subject. "Well I bet you're both hungry."

"Starving." Nikki smiled.

"But first…" Cream lifted up Nikki's soaked sleeve. "We should do something about these clothes."

Nikki laughed a little, "Yeah, good idea."

Just at that moment, Tails' plane pulled in. The fox jumped out of the cockpit and rubbed the back of his head.

"So, what happened?" Cream asked first.

Tails sighed. "It turns out Nikki already has a guardian."

"What?" Nikki was surprised by this.

"Now Nikki, calm down."

"Calm down? All this time and someone was suppose to come get me and they never came? Tails, I don't want to leave. I wanna stay. You can't let them take me-!"

Suddenly, Tails flashed an envelope from the pocket of his lab coat and handed it to Nikki. "Open it."

Nikki took the envelope from Tails gently and then broke the seal. She took out the document and was completely taken aback by what she read. "T-Tails?"

"That's right…" Nikki looked at him. "…I'm your guardian."

Nikki was completely lost for words.

"Your father must've planned ahead and wrote a will, although it's really not like him to-" Nikki suddenly embraced Tails, he definitely wasn't expecting that.

He gently embraced her back. "Welcome home."

* * *

Even though it was almost midday, the forest was dark. A swift moving wolf ran though the trees. Trace had been running for what seemed to be forever, but he wasn't about to slow down. Not when he was so close.

_Almost there._

He broke through the trees and stepped onto the solid ground. He knelt down and tried to catch his breath. Ahead of him looked to be the remnants of an old village. He took one last deep breathe and stepped forward. There was almost nothing left of the village; buildings were scorched, the road was cracking and falling apart, and it was quiet. The young wolf continued forward. He could feel memories come back to him. His eyes drifted to different sights around the abandoned town. It was almost like he was watching an old movie only it was playing around him. And they were his memories of everything…before it all went to hell.

He walked into one of the old buildings and saw a younger version of himself playing with another young wolf. It wasn't that long ago, but it seemed so far away to him. He couldn't help but think that he was so happy back then…and now. He shook it off and then stepped back outside. He then turned to another building that looked worse than the last one.

The young wolf walked in, however he didn't seem as confident as he was walking into the last building. He walked over the corner of the room. There he could see himself hiding behind an overturned table. An adult wolf was with him, comforting the young pup.

"Mom…I'm scared."

"Shh…everything will be alright, just be still. No matter what happens or what you hear…just be still."

Suddenly, the beautiful wolf swiftly ran out the door.

"Mom no! Mom!"

That almost did it for Trace. He found himself falling to his knees. Why did he even come here? He knew this was going to happen. His family had always had the ability to see things that happened in the past as well as the future. He thought that he would find answers by coming here, but all he found was more heartbreak. The young wolf pulled himself together and then took a few more steps toward the door. He knew what he was probably going to see next. He opened the door and walked out. At that same moment, an Exus robot was right in front of him and aimed its gun right at him. He side stepped to the side, but saw as his mother was running out the door, the robot fired. Not being able to stand anymore, the young wolf closed his eyes.

"That's it! I'M DONE!" He yelled and then the vision disappeared.

He fell to his knees tried to catch his breath.

_So…she really is gone…_

Trace could feel tears begin to stream down his face as he slammed his fist into what used to be the front porch.

_**"Damn it!" **_

This was all just too much for a nine year old wolf to bear. Even though he was mentally and emotionally older, he was still only a child.

"Why couldn't I do anything?…Why did I just stay there?" He already knew why. He was only six years old, what could he have done?

"If only I was stronger back then…I could have…" Trace tried to shake it off.

"No, no, don't do this to yourself." He thought to himself out loud.

"You have to get up." The young wolf tried, but he was too exhausted both physically and emotionally. Also, Trace's unique ability takes a lot out of him. Instead of standing back up, he found himself collapsing on the ground. He tried to push himself back up, but he didn't get very far, only to the point of supporting himself on his elbows before he collapsed again.

_Aww come on, not here…please not here…_

He was felling like he was going to pass out and this was the last place he wanted to take a nap. His mind was telling him he had to leave, but his body was telling him he had no choice but to stay.

Suddenly, he heard something walking toward him. He lifted his head a little to see what it was. What ever it was, it was tall. All the young wolf could see were claws and ankles.

"Well, what do we have here?" The stranger looked down at the little wolf. "You alright kid?"

"Never you mind." Trace had planned that to come out more tougher than it did. But he so worn out that his own voice betrayed him.

"Looks like you're pretty tuckered out if you ask me."

"Well… I wasn't asking, was I?"

The stranger knelt down and that was when Trace could see what he was. It was a dragon, well not a knight's tale kind of dragon, but a tall, lizard like Mobian.

"Think you're pretty tough, don't ya fur ball?"

Trace had no idea what this guy's true intentions were, he was going by what he was taught as a young pup. Never let them know your weak, stand your ground. "Just try me!"

Trace knew it was hopeless. He couldn't move and this guy was like a skyscraper to him. But he didn't back down, he stared defiantly at him, his golden eyes gleaming.

"Look kid, I'm not here to start a fight or nothin'…" Trace still wasn't buying it. "You really are a stubborn one, ain't ya?"

The dragon sighed, "Well, can't leave a youngin' like you out here all by yourself." The stranger then picked the young wolf up.

If Trace could move, he would be doing more fighting than just yelling, "Let me go!"

"Can't you get it through that thick furred head of yours that I'm tryin' to help ya?"

"I don't care! Just put me down!"

The dragon shrugged his shoulders, "Okay." He then just let the wolf go and let him drop to the floor and land on his back.

"Oww." He was looking up at the stranger now.

The stranger knelt down next to him. "You should choose your words more carefully, wolf."

"What the hell? You just dropped me?"

"Don't learn easily, do you?"

Trace growled frustratingly. As much as he hated to admit it, there really wasn't much he could do right now. He was really too tired to argue anymore. "Alright, if you're going to kill me, just get it over with."

"What?" The dragon gave him a confusing look. "Kid, that's what I've been tryin' to tell ya, I'm not gonna kill you."

"Lets just say I don't trust anyone that just _happens_ to walk up saying they want to 'help' me."

"Come on, kid. This is ridiculous." The dragon shook his head.

Trace was trying really hard to stay awake now. _No…not now…come on, stay awake… _His eyelids fell over his golden eyes and he passed out.

"Aw no, kid…hey kid! Maybe dropping him wasn't such a good idea."

* * *

Author's Note: Looks like Nikki is having a much easier time than Trace.

In Chapter 8, we'll get to see more of Knuckles' training methods and maybe some more payback from Nikki as well. *laughs*


	8. Chapter 8: Lessons

Yay! Chapter 8 is up! Sorry it took so long.

Enjoy! :)

* * *

_**Chapter 8: Lessons**_

* * *

_**Narrator: None, third person format**_

After a long day of scouting, Knuckles returned to base. He casually walked through the hanger door and then walked to the living room door. He nearly froze when he walked in to see Nikki aiming a paintball gun at him. She then shot it up toward the top of the door, missing him completely.

Knuckles looked and after realizing he was unscathed, laughed. "Ha! Missed me!

All of a sudden he felt something wet splash on his head. He looked up and saw a bucket almost ready to fall. Apparently Nikki never intended to hit Knuckles with a paintball at all. She shot the paint bucket that she rigged to fall on the shelf on top of the door.

"Oh crap." was all he had time to say before the pail fell and landed right on top of him, dumping blue paint on his head.

Knuckles stood there stunned for a moment while Nikki laughed. "I told ya I'd get you back."

Knuckles suddenly looked like he was going to explode, "That's It! You're Dead Kid! You Hear Me? DEAD!"

Knuckles ran in to punch her, but knowing that Knuckles was going to react this way, Nikki ran ahead of time and avoided it.

"You'll have to catch me first!" Nikki yelled back in the same mocking way that Knuckles did when he threw her into the lake.

Meanwhile, Tails was working on something in the workshop part of the hanger when Cream walked in an angel chao followed close behind (give you three guesses who).

"Good morning!" She greeted.

"Hiya." He turned away from his desk for a moment and looked at her. "What's up?"

"Oh nothing, I just wanted to let you know that Julie just called."

"Uh-oh." Tails forgot about Julie. He was supposed to call her and tell her that Knuckles wouldn't be coming home for a couple weeks. _She must be really mad._

"Don't worry, I explained everything."

Tails sighed in relief, "Good, Thanks." _Better coming from you than me or Knuckles anyway._

Julie had just as quick a temper as Knuckles did, but she would never raise her voice to Cream. Julie liked Cream almost like a little sister.

Cream walked over to Tails' desk and looked over his shoulder. "So, what are you working on?"

"Something that might be able to help Nikki. She said that she had no idea how fast she can run. So, I'm took an old speedometer from one of my old jets and upgrading it. When Knuckles finally does go back home on the weekends, I would imagine that Nikki would still want to continue training."

"Yeah, that's true." She agreed as she curiously looked at Tails' collection of books on his shelf.

"Chao, chao." The angel chao came in and rubbed lovingly against Tails' shoulder.

"Hey there, Cheese." Tails' petted the top of his head and he purred.

Just then the door slammed open and a blue haired Knuckles stormed into the room. _**"TAILS!"**_

Tails and Cream jump and Cheese hides behind Cream.

"AHH! Knuckles!"

"Knuckles, what did you do to your fur?" Cream asked worryingly.

"I didn't _do_ anything! Nikki did this!"

Tails was trying so hard not to laugh.

"Well, what did you do to her?" she asked.

Knuckles crossed his arms. "Are you implying that _I_ did something to make her do this to me?"

Tails shot him a look as if to say, 'well duh'.

"Well, I didn't! I just taught her how to swim by throwing her in the lake!"

"_**You What?" **_Cream suddenly stood up, she looked furious.

Tails jumped when he heard Cream yell. _Uh oh, better stay out of this one._

"Knuckles! What were you thinking?"

Tails thought to himself, _I know what it is…he __**wasn't**__ thinking._

"What? It's not like she was gonna drown or anything, I was right there!"

Cream suddenly shouted, "Go To Your Room!"

Tails started sinking behind his desk. He knew that Cream could be pretty frightening when she got angry like this, which was usually rare for her. _Gotta watch out for those quiet ones…_

Knuckles rolled his eyes, "Pfft. You can't send me to my room, I'm thirty-"

The boys could swear that they saw fire coming from Cream's eyes, _**"NOW!"**_

* * *

Knuckles didn't forget about Nikki's little prank. It was apparent in his training methods. Instead of teaching Nikki how to fight, he was focused on teaching her all the swimming strokes. He also made her run through shallow water. It wasn't easy for Nikki at all, she tried to run at her top speed through the shin deep water, but the water just pushed back with the same force, slowing her down. And all Knuckles was doing was relaxing under the tree, sometimes not even paying attention to what Nikki was doing. To Nikki, this was a complete waste of time. Sure she was learning how to be a stronger swimmer, but what was that going to do if she was caught in the woods surrounded by Exus robots?…absolutely nothing.

Nikki was getting frustrated. All she was thinking was running around in water and swimming lessons were getting her nowhere.

Nikki growled in frustration, "This is so stupid! Okay, I get that you're pissed at me for the whole blue paint thing, but I'm supposed to be learning how to fight, all I'm doing is running through water and getting nowhere! It's been two weeks and you haven't taught me a single thing that I use in a fight!"

Knuckles looked up as Nikki started to storm off. "So, you're giving up that easy huh?"

"You can't give up something you never started to begin with." She glowered at him.

"And what are you gonna do, train yourself?" Knuckles would normally be losing his temper about now, but he just leaned against the tree calm and relaxed.

"I'm sure I can do a better job than you! You lazy old bat!"

Knuckles look changed from relaxed to serious. Nikki's look didn't change what so ever. She wasn't budging, she knew she was right. The red echidna walked up to her, his eyes glaring at her. "Back stroke."

"Knuc-"

"Now!" Knuckles pulled his arm back to punch at that same moment that Nikki brought her arm up to the back stroke motion. The arm she pulled forward, blocked Knuckles' move.

He then grabbed her arm and then formed her hand into a fist. "Stronger…Faster next time."

He then pulled his arm back and stepped forward, "Again!"

Nikki did the same motion, but this time remembered how Knuckles corrected her form and blocked effortlessly and she was faster. So fast in fact, that even Knuckles barely saw her move.

He then continued, "Breast stroke!"

Nikki brought both her arms forward and her palms met Knuckles' leg.

He then moved his leg and then took her hands and pushed against them. "Push back!"

Knuckles readied himself for another kick, "Same form!"

Nikki did the same form again, she was realizing that this actually was working. This time, Knuckles took her hands and crossed them in front of her.

He then grabbed the left arm. "Leave this one…Free stroke!"

Nikki brought her right arm back and then threw it forward, where if Knuckles hadn't have blocked it would've hit him in the head.

He then let her go and then jumped back he then ran toward her full force. "Now! Dive and roll!"

Nikki dove out of the way of Knuckles' earth shaking punch and then rolled, she then landed right on her feet. Not only could she not believe that she dodged him, but was equally surprised that Knuckles could've killed her with that attack. "Whoa, Knuckles!"

"Focus! Don't stop!" He then started throwing punches at her.

Nikki was dodging every single one of his attacks as well as blocking them. She started using her legs to kick and block as well. That's when she noticed…all that swimming, that running around in shin deep water…it wasn't useless at all. It taught her not only to use multiple moves at once, but to also fluently and effortlessly switch moves in less than a heartbeat.

Knuckles knew his method was working. Not only was Nikki fighting perfectly, but she was moving so fast that Nikki was almost a blur to him. He also noticed something else too…when he scanned how fast she was moving, she was close to almost 500 miles an hour with each movement she made. And then, when Nikki finally decided to strike back, Knuckles picked up Nikki's movements at the speed of sound and he raised both his arms to block. Good thing he did too, because though Nikki only intended to just push him back slightly, she ended up creating a sonic boom and pushed Knuckles several feet away.

They both looked at each other, equally shocked.

Knuckles then gave her a smirk, "Still think my training methods are stupid?"

Nikki smirked back, "Okay, so I take it back."

Knuckles stepped back and then rushed forward. "Again!"

This time Nikki was ready, her movements were flawless and moved like water. She was creating her own moves now by mixing forms together. Knuckles was punching back stronger too as he was realizing Nikki was coming back at him with equal force. Suddenly, as Knuckles was coming in for another punch, Nikki unintentionally extended her spikes on her forearms and then as she brought her arms up, realized too late what she had done.

Luckily, Knuckles saw this with his scanner and then backed off on his punch, but the spike still cut into his fist a little. Nikki was almost shocked.

Knuckles jumped back.

_That was close. If I didn't back off just now…_

Nikki was looking at the spikes on her arms, she had never known that she could do that. True she did use them on the robot in the base, but she didn't remember that much about her fight with it.

Knuckles yelled from where he was, "What the hell? Nikki why didn't you tell me you could do that? You could've killed me!"

"I had no idea, honest!" She yelled back for him to hear.

Knuckles scanned and looked at her arms. _They look like Sonic's shoulder spikes…I wonder._

He took out some metal clawed gloves out of his quills.

Nikki didn't like the look of this, "Umm, Knuckles. What are those?"

"Shovel claws." Knuckles answered back.

"…and what exactly are you going to do with-?"

Before she could finish, Knuckles came rushing in at her. "Defend yourself!"

"Shit!" Nikki brought one arm up and closed her eyes.

She heard the sound of metal hitting metal and she looked. Her spike was actually holding Knuckles, as well as his shovel claws, back.

Knuckles smirked, _Heh, just as I thought. These spikes are just as strong as Sonic's. _"This is good. We can work with this."

* * *

_**Narrator: None, third person format**_

At first, all the young wolf could hear was the sound of his own breathing. But soon, he began to hear voices he didn't recognize a good distance away from him. He opened his golden eyes slowly and looked around his surroundings. His vision was blurred at first, but slowly and surely details in the room came into view. Trace was lying in a bed…

_Wait a minute… what?_

The last thing Trace remembered was he was laying on his front porch and that dragon came and carried him into the forest. Trace looked around and tried to get his bearings.

_Did that guy bring me here?…_

Trace sat up, but he found it a little difficult. His muscles felt tight.

_I'm so stiff…how long was I out?_

He moved his arm to confirm his thoughts.

_Must've been a long time…maybe a week or two._

The room he was in was small, it only had the bed he was sitting on and a nightstand. There was a chair and a desk in there as well, but not much walking room. And there was what looked to be a worn curtain where a door should probably be at the end of the room.

"Looks like that's my way out", The young wolf thought out loud.

He jumped down from the bed, but as soon as his feet hit the floor he felt his legs almost give out from under him.

"Uh-oh!" He couldn't help but shout as he caught himself on the bed.

_Guess my insight took a lot more out of me than I thought._

As he though that, he remembered that day that Nikki had used that Chaos Drive and almost collapsed from it. She had said the same thing he was just thinking. Trying to forget that fact, Trace shook his head and attempted to stand up again, this time though, he succeeded.

He carefully and cautiously walked toward the curtain, the young wolf had no idea what he would find on other side of the fabric. So many different scenarios ran though his mind all at once. He shook that off too and the pulled the curtain to the side, allowing himself enough room to peek through.

It looked like a small town, only it was all made of broken buildings and rubble from what was left of the city that had been there years before. There were Mobians of all kinds, some were shopping at the open marketplace right across from where he stood. Realizing that it was safe to let his guard down, only a little of course, Trace walked out of the building. He looked back at the residence that he had apparently been taking refuge in. It was an overturned apartment building.

_Well, that explains the curtain. _He thought to himself as he realized what he just walked through was one of the broken long windows on the building's side.

He continued to look around as he walk down the dirt road that he supposed was the street. A couple of young kids, much younger than Trace anyway, ran right passed him playing tag.

"Can't catch us!" a young cat yelled back.

The latter of the two, a young squirrel, laughed as it followed swiftly behind. Trace looked in the kids direction as they ran and smiled. Suddenly he heard someone yell from one of the buildings.

"Hey! Look out!"

But it was too late, as soon as Trace looked back where the children came from, someone slammed right into him. Both Trace and the stranger rolled a little ways from the momentum and crashed into one of the booths at the store. Lucky for both of them, the crates they crashed into was empty.

The girl that yelled the warning to Trace ran to his side. "Are you okay?"

Trace was tossing large pieces of wood off of himself as he answered. "Yeah, I think so."

The two kids were laughing their heads off, but it wasn't Trace that they were laughing at.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up little 'alf pints!" The young voice said laughing right behind Trace.

The stranger took a small crate off of his head and then looked at Trace. He was a wallaby that was much taller than Trace, but must've been at least the same age, if not a little older.

"Sorry 'bout that, you 'ight mate?"

Trace couldn't help but chuckle a little, the wallaby had half a melon on his head. "I'm fine, but you got something…"

The wallaby looked up and shook his head to get the melon off.

Suddenly the shop keeper came out and shook his head. "Caper, I should've known."

"Eh Jack, 'ow's it goin'?"

Jack raised his eyebrow a little and smiled, "You're lucky you only hit the discard of my merchandise, kid."

Caper rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, won' 'appen again."

Jack then turned his attention to Trace, "You alright kid?"

Trace nodded.

The shopkeeper then turned his attention back to Caper, "You'll clean this up I hope?"

Caper gave him a big smile, "Sure, you bet."

Jack then returned to the front end of the shop. Jack then returned to the front end of the shop. The wallaby started to get up, but found his foot stuck in one of the crates.

The girl couldn't help but laugh. "Need some help?"

"Naw, I got it." He struggled to get it off and then lost his footing and fell backward on his rear. It was really comical. Finally, Caper kicked the crate against the side of the building and it broke off of his foot.

"Ha!" he laughed in triumph as he stood and dusted himself off. He then walked over and offered his hand to Trace.

Caper laughed a little as Trace hesitated for a minute, "Come on mate, I aint gonna bite ya"

The young wolf then grabbed Caper's hand and he was pulled effortlessly to his feet.

"Thanks" Trace gratified as he dusted himself off as well.

"Eh you're welcome, mate. So, what do they call ya?"

"Trace Wolf." Trace stated bluntly.

"Nice to meet ya. The name's Caper the wallaby, and that sheila there is Savannah Rain."

He then leaned in to whisper to Trace, "She's a painted wolf."

"Um, just Rain." The young girl laughed.

"Pleasure to meet you, Rain." Trace bowed a little.

"Well, I was going to check on you at the apartment. But it looks like you're fine. You out for at least a week. Valor shouldn't have dropped you like that, it was reckless." Rain shook head a slight bit of irritation was apparent in her face.

Trace rubbed the back of his head, he had completely forgotten about that.

"Yeah well…you _are_ right, but that's not the reason I passed out."

Both kids gave him a slightly confused look. As if to answer the apparent question that would follow, Trace continued. "It's a little difficult to explain, well without making it sound like I'm crazy or anything but-"

Rain interrupted him. "If you don't wanna talk about it right now, it's alright."

"Yeah and don' worry mate, no one will think you're crazy here. We're all refuges, so we've all got issues." Caper added with a smile. He was always this optimistic and friendly.

Trace smiled, he was glad that he didn't have to explain his unique gift to them. Maybe he would when he got to know them better, seeing visions of the past and the future aren't something that is considered normal by any means. "Thanks."

"So the guy that brought me here…Valor was it?" Trace continued. "Where is he now?"

Rain thought for a minute, "I think he's running a mission with Caper's dad."

Caper nodded, confirming Rain's hypothesis. "Yep."

"If you need to talk to him, you can wait till he comes back." Rain added.

"And…if you don't have anywhere else to go…you're more than welcome to stay here." By the tone in Rain's voice, it seemed that she was used to offering that suggestion.

Well, like Caper said…the whole town as a town full of refugees, orphans…

Trace thought for a minute. There really was nowhere else he could go. He had no home to go back to, he especially didn't want to go back there, not after that vision trip he had.

"Well, you think about it. No rush." Rain smiled. "Come on, we'll show you around." The painted wolf ran on ahead.

Caper started running after her.

Trace stood there for a minute, debating what he should do. Rain and Caper stopped running as soon as they realized Trace wasn't following.

"Eh mate! You comin'!" Caper shouted back.

Trace looked at the two of them. He still had his doubts, his worries, he was always cautious when it came to others he just met. But when he saw Rain's reassuring smile, suddenly he felt he had nothing to worry about.

_Even though I can see what happens in the past…I can't continue to live in it any longer. Time to look to the future._

With that thought he took a few steps forward then broke into a run, toward the two kids, feeling any sense of doubt and uncertainty lift from his shoulders.

* * *

Yeah, this was more of a character building chapter, but there should be some more action in the next one.

For Chapter 9 update information, check profile :)


	9. Chapter 9:  Nightmare

To the anonymous reviewers:

The Cinderninja: Aww thank you :) Yeah I do like getting reviews. I'm sort of new to this whole fan writing thing, so it's awesome getting some encouragement. I rarely have time to review myself, but I'm going to start soon. As far as keeping the story going...Writing to me is like running is to Sonic, i just can't stop lol. I enjoy every minute of it. :) I'm so glad you like it.

Here it is! Chapter 9! Yay! :)

I have been very excited about this one, some serious character building here and also major action and a little comedy mixed in.

* * *

_**Chapter 9: Nightmare**_

* * *

_**Narrator: None, third person format**_

"Okay, now this usually isn't my forte…but we don't really have a choice here." The red echidna eyelids fell shut.

Nikki was waiting for him to finish, lightly tapping her foot.

Knuckles continued. "Now that we've strengthened your legs while running in water, lets see how fast you can run."

"Yeah about that-"

"What? Backing out already?"

"No!" Nikki defended. "But-"

"Then why are you hesitating?"

"I'm not hesitating." Nikki tried to say calmly. "I'm trying to-"

"Just run!" Knuckles suddenly ran at her and she leaped out of the way.

"Alright! Alright!" Nikki dashed off as fast as she could go.

Knuckles barley saw her for a split second before she disappeared into the forest and then heard a sudden series of crashes and large trees snapping and falling over. Knuckles' look suddenly changed from determined to…

_Oh Shit._

Back at the base, Tails was resting on the couch in the living room. He had just finished working on tuning up that speedometer, and like he promised Cream, he was taking a break from wearing his spinal vest. Just then he heard a slam that made him jump and nearly fall off the couch.

Nikki came storming in, completely covered head to toe in mud, branches, and leaves. Knuckles was right behind her.

"Why didn't you tell me you didn't know how to stop!"

"_**I **_tried, but you're too much of a _**knucklehead**_ to listen to me!"

At that last comment, Knuckles' jaw dropped and Tails was a slight bit surprised.

Nikki sighed and turned around. "I'm taking a shower."

She then walked up to the upstairs bathroom and almost slammed the door behind her. After she left, Knuckles and Tails looked at each other.

"Tails?…Did you ever tell Nikki that was what Sonic used to call me?"

"Um no, can't say that I have."

"Okay, that's just creepy."

Tails almost laughed at Knuckles' response. Suddenly an idea came to him.

"Hey, you head for home today for the weekend, right?"

"Yes…" Knuckles had no idea where Tails was going with this, but he recognized that expression on Tails' face and he knew he probably wouldn't like what Tails was going to say next.

_He was right._

"Why don't you take Nikki with you? Judging by how she's been acting lately, she looks like she needs the break."

"Are you crazy?" Knuckles shook his head. "Do you have any idea how hard it is for me alone to get back home, let alone dragging a kid with me?"

"You won't be dragging her, she runs faster than you." Tails concluded not only as a fact, but prove to Knuckles that what the red echidna just said wasn't a very good excuse. "Besides, I think Nikki and Su would get along, do you?"

Knuckles sighed and rolled his eyes, "That's what I'm afraid of."

Tails gives him that 'aww, come on. Really?' look and Knuckles, not finding any other excuse he could use at that moment, gave in.

"Fine." he mumbled.

It was no more than an hour later that Knuckles and Nikki were off heading in the direction of Knuckles' home. Knuckles was running as fast he could go at first, but then suddenly came to an abrupt stop, causing Nikki to run into him. Knuckles glanced back at her and told the 'shh'. He ducked down low and glanced over a fallen tree. There were two Exus robots just ahead of them. They looked like the same Exus Beast tracker robots that Nikki had faced a few times before she found the Freedom Fighters' base, only these ones had a red streak lining across the sides of the robots instead of gold.

"Good…" Knuckles whispered. "They're only low-level trackers."

The echidna's right eye glowed bright violet and scanned the two bots.

"Okay, the right one's weak spot is the front of the head under the shield. The left one's weak spot is in the back of the neck."

He looked at Nikki, "You head around the back of those trees and see if you can cut into the left one's neck. As for me…I'll punch my way through that flimsy head shield on the right bot."

Nikki looked in the direction Knuckles told her to go and then gave him a confirming nod. She then smirked and took off into the forest, out of sight. The red echidna took his shovel claws out of his quills and attached them to his fists.

The young hedgehog, climbed into one of the trees and looked down at the robot below her. She focused on her target, the thick layer of metal on the back of the head. Nikki was starting to get why each robot looked slightly different than the next one. They double the armor over the weakest point of the robot. But, what still didn't make sense was why give each one a different weak spot in the first place? She figured she would ask Knuckles later.

Nikki jumped up to the next branch above her to gain momentum and then swung herself down toward the robot. She quickly spun and hit the robot with such incredible force that the front legs buckled and the robot's head dug into the ground. She leaped back and assessed the damage she just caused…barely even a dent.

_**What? **_Nikki couldn't believe it, she knew she hit that scrap heap harder than that.

Knuckles came rushing in from the forest at a full charge and brought his arm back. He leapt into the air and drove one of his shovel claws into his target's head. The claw broke through the robot's armor and almost penetrated the robot's inner structure, but the robot began to try and shake Knuckles off at a speed that could rival Sonic himself.

Because she was distracted by Knuckles' attack, Nikki barely noticed the other robot charging toward her. She realized the robot was too close and leaped into the air. The robot fired a round of bullets straight at her. In one swift motion, the young hedgehog extended her blades on her arms and back and spun in the air. Her tactic worked for the most part. Most of the bullets were deflected, only a few barely grazed her right ear and one of her arms. She bolted forward and hit the ground beneath the robot, she then rebounded, hit the robot in the chin, and the robot was driven upward. The young hedgehog was back in the air again, only this time, she had the robot right where she wanted it.

She spun one more time and aimed for the weak spot on the robot's neck. This time, she hit her mark. The robot's armor shredded and she saw what looked to be a chip. Was this what Knuckles was trying to get to with other robot? She decided it was worth a shot and spun her self faster into the robot's neck. One of her spikes broke the chip apart and the robot instantly shut down.

It wasn't a second later that Knuckles had brought his robot down as well. The echidna leapt off the robot's head, but as soon as he touched the ground, it was apparent that he was dizzy from the robot thrashing about.

Knuckles shook it off and turned to Nikki, he noticed a little bit of blood dripping from her ear. "You alright, Kid?"

Nikki gave him a 'what are you talking about' look, but then quickly realized why Knuckles ask when she saw the drop of blood on her shoulder. She touched her ear and then smiled. "Yeah, just a scratch."

Knuckles would've expected the kid to at least cringe a little after touching her ear, but he quickly remembered…_She __**was **__Sonic's daughter after all._

The red echidna turned in the direction of the robot he just took down and then recovered a red Chaos Drive from it. He then walked over to the next one and found violet Chaos Drive. He placed one of them in his quills and looked at the young hedgehog. "We better hold onto these. If what you said about your ability to use Chaos Drives is true, then we might need them later." He then tossed the violet one to Nikki, who caught it with no trouble.

The young hedgehog placed the Chaos Drive in her quills as Knuckles continued walking down the path ahead.

"Lets keep moving." the red echidna called back.

Nikki nodded and swiftly caught up to Knuckles.

It wasn't long before the sky started to become darker than the usual smog covered grey. The only hint that anyone nowadays knew that night was quickly approaching. Knuckles decided it would be best for them to stop for the night and continue traveling earlier the next morning. The red echidna relaxed against a rock nearby and closed his eyes as he listened to the crackling of the campfire. Nikki curled up and fell asleep quickly, she loved sleeping outside.

The young hedgehog was used to having the same nightmare all the time, the one about her father. She just opened one eye and barely glanced around to confirm she was awake and then fell back asleep again…it was what she saw next, that she would never expect…

* * *

_**Narrator: Sonica**_

I opened my eyes, only to see darkness surrounding me. All I could hear was the sound of my own heart beating, it was ringing in my ears.

_Where's the campfire…the trees…Knuckles…_

Suddenly that dawned on me, Knuckles had to be here somewhere.

"Knuckles?…" I shouted to the air as I looked around, no one answered back. _**"KNUCKLES!" **_I waited and listened, hoping to hear something. But then I realized something…I didn't even hear my own voice!

_What the hell?_

Not gonna lie, that's kind of creepy.

_Did something happen to my voice?…Am I even still awake?…Am I…_

I didn't even dare finish that sentence. _How I can be dead? I don't remember anything happening…I think. _I ran through what happened in my mind.

_Okay, so I had my usual nightmare that I always have. I woke up for a second then fell right back to sleep…so I have to be dreaming right?_

"_**What ever you think works for you."**_

I couldn't help but jump when I heard that voice. It sounded like me, but it wasn't my own voice. It sounded…dark.

_Who are you? _Was what I intended to say…if I could speak.

"_**You know who I am." **_the voice replied. I could fight menacing robots and feel absolutely no fear…but this voice…How could something as simple as a voice send a shiver down my spine? I couldn't understand how I could be afraid of something I couldn't even see.

_Then show yourself! If what you say is true, I'll recognize you when I see you!_

"_**Are you telling me that you can't even recognize yourself? Pathetic."**_

_You're the one who's pathetic! Hiding in the shadows, you coward!_

Some of the darkness began to disappear, revealing a shape of someone chained to the empty space surrounding it. There was an iron collar around the shadow's neck that was also connected to the seemingly endless chains wrapped around the shadow's body. The dark shadow looked at me, that was when I realized…I was looking…at myself. My doppelganger's bright emerald eyes met my own.

"_**You were saying?" **_The dark blue hedgehog then smirked evilly, _**"Or should I say thinking?"**_

_What the hell is going on here? _I thought to myself as I took a few steps back. _This thing can hear my thoughts?_

"_**Um, no duh. A little slow on the uptake, aren't we?" **_She said that the same way I would, only there was hint of venom behind her words.

Feeling my confidence returning, I simply crossed my arms. _Then you know how I got here, I take it?_

"_**I called you here…" **_The evil hedgehog continued. _**"You may not be aware of it…but you are in more trouble than you realize right now."**_

I was skeptical at first, could I really believe what she was saying? _What do mean?_

"_**We don't have much time for me to explain everything. While you and that knuckleheaded teacher of yours were sleeping you were attacked. If we don't do something soon, none of us will make it."**_

_You don't seem like the type that would care if something happened to me. _I couldn't help but think that one.

"_**Um hello? I said **__**we**__** and **__**us**__**, get it? If you don't make it, then neither do I!" **_My double yelled. The look that she gave was still malevolent, but I did notice something else behind those familiar emerald eyes…fear. She was actually afraid that she was going to die.

_Then what do you think we should do? _I dared to ask.

"_**Release me…" **_The way she said that was like talking to a snake, her eyes filled with venom and bloodlust. _**"…and I mean completely. Not that partial crap like you did when the base was attacked that night.**_

_I remember what happened that night, I tore that robot completely apart. How do I know that you won't do that to Knuckles? Or anyone else for that matter?_

"_**Like I have been saying, I am you. I won't harm anyone that you won't. Your moral standards will still be intact, I swear."**_

I shook my head. _That's too much to risk. If it was just my own life on the line that's one thing, but someone else's?_

"_**Please! I don't want to die here chained like a dog! I can take them!"**_

_You say that we are one and the same. That means the strength you have isn't just yours…it's mine too._

I notice a change in her eyes and I knew I figured something out my double didn't plan on.

_I'm right, aren't I? I don't need to release you to gain that power. The power I need lies in me and __**only**__ me._

"_**And what makes you think you have the strength to wake yourself up?"**_

_You had enough power to bring me here, I think you can __**manage **__to send me back._

"_**You need me-"**_

_I do not! The only energy I need to tap into is my own, not yours!_

I grabbed her and pulled her close in a threatening manner, getting my point across.

_Now wake me up so I can get us out of this mess!_

"_**You will fail…You will kill us both."**_

_What's the matter? Don't trust yourself? _I mocked back, not in the dark tone she used, but my own.

"_**Hmph. Idiot."**_

The shadows suddenly began to wrap around me. I had no idea what was happening, was she sending back or dragging me down further. The darkness completely covered me…then I felt something…pain…

That's when I knew…I was waking up…

* * *

_**Narrator: None, third person format.**_

Through the darkness, Nikki could feel intense pain flooding her chest and back. Then the pain continued spread and increase in extreme amounts.

_So they __**did**__ attack me in my sleep…cowards…_

As she started regaining consciousness, she tried to open her eyes. Her faded emerald eyes looked to her left. She could see Knuckles, struggling under a robot's towering grip. The young hedgehog tried to move, but soon realized why she couldn't. She was pinned against the trunk of a tree by a small blade…right through her chest!

It was the tip of the robot's tail…or what was left of it anyway. Knuckles must've tried to free her before he got attacked himself. She glanced back at the echidna. It looked like he was about to give up. The young hedgehog guessed why, because for all he knew…she was already dead.

She tried to yell, but no sound came from her mouth and the pain in her chest shot through her. She grabbed the blade in her hands and tried to push it out of her. As she did so, it moved a little and she caught a breath. She then tried to yell again…

"_**Knu-Knux!"**_

That time, the echidna heard her. He looked over at her in disbelief, watching the young hedgehog try and pry herself loose.

"_**Knuckles!" **_she yelled again, making absolutely sure that Knuckles didn't think he was just imagining her.

Knuckles' look changed from utter shock, to determination. He then turned his attacker. " 'Good as dead' huh? You'd think that Surge guy would put more brains in that metal head of yours. At least enough to know…"

Knuckles suddenly regained strength and pushed the robot's arm off of him, he then kicked the robot away and then brought his fist to meet where he had just kicked. _"…where to hit!"_

Even though Knuckles was fighting back, Nikki could tell that the echidna was already running out of energy to fight. Not only that, now that she could actually see clearly, Knuckles condition was no better than her own. If either of them were going to make it though this…she had to free herself. She tried to push against the blade with her hands again, but she didn't get far. She felt like she was going to pass out again. "…No…stay awake…" _If I pass out now…I might never wake up…or worse…I could end up in the company of that pessimistic double of mine…_

Nikki leaned her head against the tree exhausted, but then felt something hit the back of her head. She was normally used to pain, but given her current condition… "Ow." Suddenly, she remembered.

_The Chaos Drive…I still have it in my quills…_

She began to draw energy from the Chaos Drive and a red light began to surround her.

_I might not be able to heal myself…but this should give enough power…to get out of this at least…_

The red glow became stronger. Nikki lifted her legs and planted both feet on the spokes of the bladed tail. She then pushed with all her might and the blade came right out of the tree, though her back and finally out of her chest. She still felt the pain coursing through her and she fell to the ground, having no time to be able to react and catch herself. The young hedgehog forced herself on one knee and then used the tree for support to stand on her feet. The energy from the Chaos Drive gave her extra strength and she found herself standing without any trouble.

_Okay, that's one problem taken care off…_

Nikki then wasted no time and extended her spikes, but to her surprise the spikes on her back were longer and the spikes on her forearms were wider and pointed in the opposite direction. They almost looked like huge, spike tipped shields.

"Heh, this'll work." Nikki smirked and looked at the attacker. "_Alright you back stabbing coward…" _She readied herself and took a step forward, pleased at the fact her pain subsided. _"…I'm calling you out!"_

As if to agree with her, the energy surrounding her glowed brighter. She dashed forward and brought her arm back, the same way that Knuckles would before a punch.

"Lights out, bot!"

The robot only barely caught a glimpse of her before the young hedgehog drove the huge spike into the robot's head. She then leaped over it with no trouble. She turned around expecting it to crash into the ground, but it just looked at her, it's menacing red eyes gleaming.

"That's not the weak spot!" Knuckles shouted from the other side of the massive robot.

"Now you tell me!" Nikki retorted back. She had no idea how long the energy from this Chaos Drive was going to last. If it ran out in the middle of this fight, then they both would be in trouble. As she spoke, she effortlessly dodged the robot's attacks. "Then where is it? I can't find where the armor is doubled over, it all looks the same!"

"That's because I already destroyed the armor!" the echidna dodged another blow from the robot's tail, but he knew he couldn't keep this up for long. "It's in it's tail!"

_The tail! _Nikki looked at the broken tail on the ground and then looked at what was left of the monster's swinging, thrashing tail. _Which part of the tail?_

She then looked at the echidna. "Knuckles! Which part of the tail?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. My right eye is damaged, I can't scan it!" Suddenly the robot brought it's tail down smacked Knuckles into the ground.

"Knuckles!" Nikki had to think fast.

She spun as fast as she could and the blades on her arms protruded from the sides like a bladed chariot wheel. She dashed forward and slammed into the robot's chest, the force pushed the robot backward, away from Knuckles and then slammed into a nearby tree. She jumped back and then noticed the robot jump behind her.

_I don't get it, I'm not over there…so why is the robot standing in front of the tree where-?" _The pieces fell together. _Wait! That's it!_

She dashed forward. _The robot protects it's weak spot…_

The young hedgehog jumped up and over the robot. It saw what she was doing and attempted to hit her with it's tail, but she brought her arm up and the blade on her arm blocked the tail and dug into it. The robot began thrashing around.

_Now I just need to wait for the right moment…_

The robot swung it's tail back and she knew that was her cue. Just as the momentum from the tail began to thrust backward to smash her into the ground, Nikki pried herself loose from the robot's tail and landed next to the robot's severed tail. The robot turned to grab Nikki, but she drove her arm spike right into the tail that had came so close to taking her life earlier. The robot shut down, but it's momentum was still moving forward and it hit Nikki head on. Both crashed into the massive tree with enough force to completely uproot it from the ground.

It wasn't long after that happened that Knuckles regained consciousness. Though he was still dazed from the blow to the head from the robot's tail, the red echidna pushed against the ground and struggled to support himself on one knee. He couldn't remember the last time he was this badly torn up. And what he couldn't believe even more…was how that damn robot snuck up on them like that.

The incident that lasted barely even a second, ran through his mind. Knuckles remembered how he was forced awake when he heard slashing metal and Nikki's short scream that was cut off when the robot stabbed her. That was when he was caught off guard. Natural instincts and fear for the kid's safety had taken effect and he charged at the robot, unaware that after he broke the tip of the tail where Nikki was mercilessly impaled, The robot had readied a counter attack and shot at the echidna with a round of bullets. He was used to that by now, but just because it's happened before, doesn't mean that it didn't hurt any less than the first time. It wasn't even a half second later that robot rushed to where he crashed and the robot's massive claws came down on him.

As his mind started catching up to current events, he suddenly turned his attention to the machine collapsed next to the fallen tree. The echidna's heart sank as he saw a blood stained hand outstretched from under it…lifeless.

…_No…Damn it!_

A sudden burst of adrenaline kicked in as Knuckles sprinted toward the horrific scene.

It looked like there was no life in the young hedgehog. Laying next to her was a completely drained Chaos Drive.

Knuckles didn't have a Chaos Emerald with him. Even if Nikki gave any sign that she was remotely alive, there was no way he could possibly help her. If this was a nightmare…Knuckles desperately wanted to wake up. But it wasn't…this was really happening.

A shaken sigh escaped from him as his eyes closed. He placed his hand on her wrist to check for a pulse…he felt something, but not what he was expecting. The back of his head was throbbing, he guessed it was from where the robot hit him before he passed out. He dismissed it and focused on Nikki…no pulse.

In frustration, anger, and despair, the echidna brought his arm back and slammed his fist into the ground. "Damn!"

"…She was…a kid…just a kid…" the red echidna dug his fist deeper into the ground, there was a hint of moisture behind his eyes that threatened to fall. "…that bastard!…" He was silent for moment, trying to pull himself back together, when…

"_Why…are you crying…Knucklehead?"_

As an automatic response, Knuckles yelled "I am not-!" His eyes sprang open when he realized who's voice that was. _No…way._

He looked in front of him and was completely stunned by what he saw. Bright emerald eyes were looking right up at him, bright and brilliant as ever, but still weak.

_You've got to be kidding me! What is up with these hedgehogs and the 'no dying' thing? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad and all but…What the hell?_

"Don't you ever do that to me again, got it!"

Nikki then gave him a confusing look, "Do…what?…"

Knuckles then realized he was yelling at the poor girl instead of helping her and simply said, "Never mind." He then took a closer look at Nikki, everything just didn't add up.

_I don't get it…These are fatal injuries and I don't have a Chaos Emerald…so how is she-?_

"The…drive…"

He looked at her confused, "What?"

"The…Chaos Drive…"

If Knuckles wasn't shocked before, he definitely was now. _Did she just read my mind?_

He looked at the Chaos Drive that was next to her. "Nikki, that drive's drained. It won't-"

"Not that one…the violet one…in your quills…r-remember?…"

The red echidna reached in his quills. His hand touched something and his eyes widened. He grabbed the object in question and took it out of his quills. _I completely forgot I still had this. _Then something clicked. _Wait! That pain in the back of my head…that came from the same spot the Chaos Drive was…and that happened when I checked Nikki's pulse…_

He started noticing that she was fading again. Knuckles then held her hand again, this time though he had the Chaos Drive in the other.

_Come on, let this work._

The Chaos Drive glowed brighter and Knuckles felt a slight burning sensation coming from it. The glow suddenly turned white and then shot through Knuckles and then to Nikki.

_She can still call the chaos energy…through someone else?_

Knuckles had never heard of anything like this happening before. Sure, Sonic used the energy from the Chaos Emeralds with no trouble, but literally using another being as a current? She shouldn't be able to that, especially with something as weak as a Chaos Drive.

Something still didn't seem right. There was no change in the young hedgehog, she was finding it harder to breathe. "…You need to…I can't…heal…" She slowly closed her eyes and the light around her started to dim.

_What? She can't heal herself? _"Stay with me…Nikki? Nikki, look at my eyes." He figured if she focused on him, she wouldn't pass out as easily.

Nikki did as he said and opened her eyes a little. He could tell she waiting for him to do something, but she no longer had the strength to tell him what it was.

_Why isn't this working? I'm trying here, come on. _The echidna pleaded to himself. Knuckles followed the energy flow with his eyes. With his cybernetic eye damaged, he had to rely on how the energy felt, which he haven't done for a long time. _That's it! It's not working because the Chaos Drive is calling Nikki, not me. And in order to use __**my**__ energy…_

He looked at Nikki's other hand. …_I have to complete the circuit._

Knuckles reached down and placed the Chaos Drive in Nikki's hand. He then held onto both the drive and Nikki and focused. He felt the Chaos Drive suddenly explode to life and then the white energy surged through him. It then moved from the echidna to Nikki. Nikki's chest rose higher as she found it easier to breathe.

_Alright, now lets see if I can get this energy to heal you. _Knuckles focused and, now fueled by Nikki's natural ability, the energy listened to the echidna's request.

The young hedgehog began to glow bright white. As soon as the fatal stab wound in her chest disappeared, Nikki eyes filled with life again and she looked at her savior.

"So you tell me look in your eyes and you close yours?" Nikki said in a joking manner.

"Don't start with me." The echidna simply said without breaking concentration.

"Um Knuckles-"

Knuckles wasn't paying attention to her, he was too focused on what he was doing. "Something's wrong…the circulation to your legs is cut off."

"Yeah, I know. That's what I'm trying to tell you, look."

He didn't like the sound of that. The echidna opened his eyes and looked in that said direction. Leaving the Chaos Drive with her, Knuckles stood up and looked through the twisted metal. To his relief, Nikki's legs were still there, but there was another problem…he could easily tell, even from where he was, that they were broken. The metal was crushing both her legs, no doubt blocking even blood flow.

"You have _**got**_ to be kidding me."

He walked back over toward Nikki and then grabbed the side of the robot that was crushing her. "Let's get this thing off you."

As he lifted the robot he noticed something. Not only did the Chaos Drive heal Nikki, but most of his own injuries were healed as well. (aside from his right eye, of course.) Once he was sure Nikki was out of harm's way, Knuckles pushed the downed robot aside. Nikki couldn't help but cringe as the pain rushed in from her legs after the pressure from the metal was released. Knuckles then kneeled at the young hedgehog's side.

He looked at the Chaos Drive, it looked like it was running out. "That Chaos Drive looks like it's almost done. Don't know if it's gonna be enough."

Nikki looked at the Chaos Drive, she then looked at him, giving him almost that same mocking smirk. "Giving up already?" It was in a manner that Knuckles would've said to her while training. This was similar to that anyway, only this time…Nikki was teaching Knuckles. Her smirk then changed into a trusting smile, "You made it this far, I know you can do this."

"This might not be comfortable."

"Whatever happens, I can take it."

The echidna placed one of his hands on top of the Chaos Drive still in Nikki's hand. He placed the other on one her crushed legs and Nikki flinched a little.

Knuckles gave her look asking if she was ready. Nikki gave Knuckles a trusting smile and nod. She then gripped the Chaos Drive tightly in her hand, activating it. The white energy surged through them both, growing stronger with every breath Nikki took. Nikki closed her eyes and focused, Knuckles did the same. The young hedgehog felt every bone in her body crack back into place. It was uncomfortable, but she remained peaceful and calm. After a while the light finally subsided, as did the pain.

Knuckles opened his eyes and looked at Nikki, she did seem like she was okay, but he never used a Chaos Drive to heal someone before, so he had no idea if any side effects would be involved. "So, you okay?"

Nikki pulled herself up into a sitting position, she then gave Knuckles a smirk and then flipped backwards unnecessarily and landed effortlessly on her feet. She gave him a thumbs up, "Perfectly fine."

Knuckles muttered under his breath, _Show off._

* * *

Author's Note: I almost ended this one at a cliffhanger...almost. But I couldn't bring myself to do that. I couldn't leave you guys wondering for a whole couple days whether or not Nikki was alive. :)

Next Chapter: Knuckles and Nikki finally make it to their destination, but there are a few surprises once they get there. :)

For update info, check profile.


	10. Chapter 10: New Albion

Finally! Chapter 10. I had planned for it to be longer, but I thought too much was happening here already. So, I split the chapter in two.

Anyway, Sorry it took me so long.

Review Replies:

Michael 4: Thanks :) Don't worry, i usually update much more often than this lol.

Like always, Enjoy :)

* * *

_**Chapter 10: New Albion**_

* * *

_**Narrator: None, third person format**_

"I wonder what this one does?" Nikki thought out loud tossing the green Chaos Drive in the air.

"Don't use it, we have no idea what'll happen." the red echidna warned just walking ahead of the young hedgehog.

They had recovered that Chaos Drive from the robot before they left. After that attack, they both decided it would be best to keep going and rest when they get to their destination.

"I'm just curious. I've already used a yellow one, a red one, and a violet one. How many different kinds of Chaos Drives are out there anyway?"

"Only four different kinds that we're aware of", Knuckles started to explain. "Chaos Drives are normally used for raising Chaos."

"Like Cream's Chao, Cheese?"

"That's right. The yellow ones raise swimming power, the red Chaos Drives increase their strength, and the violet ones allow them to fly easier…the green Chaos Drives bring up their running speed."

"So, this Chaos Drive would make me run faster?"

"Not sure, they seem to have a different effect on you. The red Chaos Drive _did _make you stronger like it was supposed to, but the violet one seemed to act differently. None of the Chaos Drives have the power to heal someone, but for some reason, that one time it was able to heal both of us just fine."

"Actually, it happened to me twice."

"What?" Knuckles looked back curiously.

"Yeah, remember when I told you the first time I used a Chaos Drive was when I was looking for the base? Well, someone else was trying to help me find it. He got attacked by a tracker robot and I used a yellow Chaos Drive to heal him."

"Okay, so far we know that the violet Chaos Drives can heal and now so can the yellow ones. The red one gave you super strength…" He started thinking for a minute. "I'll tell you what, don't use that Chaos Drive unless we absolutely need it. I know someone where we're going that can probably tell us more about this."

"Sure thing." Nikki placed the green Chaos Drive in her quills as they continued moving.

"We also know you can't heal yourself either. I _could_ tell you to be careful, but you'll probably just ignore me anyway."

"Aw Knux, you know me so well." Nikki smiled jokingly.

Knuckles gave her a 'don't push it' look.

Suddenly, Nikki's look changed and she rubbed the back of her head. "Hey Knuckles…"

Knuckles stopped walking and glanced back at her. "Hmm?"

"I just…What I wanted to say is…" Nikki looked away, "Thanks."

"For what?" Knuckles looked at her confused.

"Look, this isn't easy for me. So…" Nikki was still looking away.

Knuckles could tell she was a little embarrassed and guessed what it was about. Just like her father, Nikki was used to handling things on her own. She never experienced the feeling of being helpless before. Knuckles gave her a smile. "You're welcome. It wasn't easy for me either when I was younger, but you grow out of it. Thanks for helping me out earlier, too."

Knuckles then turned and continued walking. Nikki gave a slightly confused look. She didn't expected that from Knuckles, but then she quickly shrugged it off and caught up, walking right behind him.

Nikki tried to peek around Knuckles. "So, where are we going?"

"We're going to a place called New Albion. It used be ruins where ancient echidnas used to live, but when Surge came into power, it became a place for others to live without fear. It's all underground, like our base, so it's safe."

"Hmm." Nikki nodded.

"The secret entrance should be around this corner."

Nikki looked around her, she could hear the sound of gears moving, but it sounded like they were moving slow and were not planning on making a move anytime soon. "They can't find the entrance, can they?"

"I'd love to see them try." Knuckles gave a smirk behind him. There was something that he knew that would prevent those metal freaks from even coming close to the underground city.

"Here we are." Knuckles walked over toward the cliff side. Thick underbrush laid at the base of it.

Nikki was a little confused. _This obviously looks like a way in, so why did no one else find it?_

Knuckles moved some of the bushes out of the way. That was when Nikki realized, it wasn't a tunnel leading into the side of the mountain, it was a pit that lead down into the earth at a steep angle.

Knuckles stepped toward the pit and looked back at Nikki. "This tunnel goes down pretty far and it's slippery so-!"

Suddenly, Nikki jumped in and slid down the tunnel. "Wahoo! Come on Knux!"

The red echidna couldn't believe she just did that. "Whoa! Nikki wait!" He then slid in after her.

Nikki was just small enough to stand up and basically grind down the tunnel, while Knuckles was kneeling down trying to catch up.

Knuckles yells ahead for Nikki to hear, "Turn right up ahead!"

But Nikki was sliding too fast and couldn't hear him, "What did you say?"

"I said go-!" Nikki had already went left. "…crap."

Knuckles tried to climb back up to get to back to the fork in the tunnel, but the tunnel was too slippery and he kept sliding down. The red echidna was launched out of the tunnel into a large cavern room. Just as he stood up, Nikki comes shooting through the tunnel to the left of him and they crash into each other.

Nikki sits up, she had an absolute blast. "Whew, what a ride."

Knuckles…not so much. "Yeah, great" he said with sarcasm. The echidna stood up and brushed himself off.

Nikki stood up and looked around. The cavern they were in was massive. She looked behind her and saw a huge pyramid-like structure.

"Whoa."

"That's the way in." Knuckles' starts walking toward the ancient ruins. "Watch your step. There are still traps around here."

Nikki followed Knuckles footsteps to the letter as they approached the pyramid. The markings on it were absolutely beautiful, the motifs covered the steps leading up to a wall that looked like it was able to be moved.

As she was looking curiously at the pyramid, she accidentally miss stepped and barely hit a tile on the floor. Knuckles looked back when heard the cracking tile. Both froze where they stood, waiting to see what was coming…nothing happened. They both breathed a sigh of relief.

Nikki laughed a little. "For a second there I thought-"

_**Crack!**_

Both of their eyes shot a look to the floor beneath them. The floor was actually falling apart under their feet! There was no time to react, the tiles became unsteady and moved from side to side crumbling, making both of them lose their balance.

"Whoa!"

It felt like the whole world was shaking apart. The tiles slipped out and they started to feel themselves fall through. Nikki couldn't help but look under her feet to try and keep her balance, but as she did, she noticed that there was nothing but darkness under them.

Knuckles grabbed Nikki and threw her toward the stairs on the other side of the room. Nikki skid to stop on the stable tile and watched as Knuckles tried to jump toward solid ground. Each tile he touched crumbled under him and he had to leap to another. Finally, Knuckles jumped up and glided as close to the edge as he could.

The tile he grabbed onto crumbled as he touched it. "Shit!"

Nikki jumped forward and grabbed Knuckles' arm before he fell back down. "Got ya!"

The force of gravity almost pulled her down, but she held her ground. Unfortunately, it caused her to dislocate her shoulder. Her eyes closed tightly shut for a second, but she forced them open. She grabbed Knuckles with her other hand and pulled back with all her might. As soon as Knuckles was close enough, he grabbed the ledge, helped pull himself over and then collapsed on the ground. Both were out of breath. Quick as a flash, Nikki pushed back on her shoulder, fixing it.

She let out a huge sigh and then looked at Knuckles. "Well, that was close huh?"

Knuckles gave her a look, "I'm only going to say this once…when we're down here…pay attention."

Nikki smiled apologetically and laughed a little.

* * *

With the way to the pyramid blocked, there were a series of tunnels they had to walk through. These were much smaller than the tunnels they slid down earlier. It was small and Nikki was having a little bit of trouble. It reminded her of the experience she had with her counterpart just six hours ago. Knuckles noticed that something wasn't right with her and was trying to figure out what was wrong.

Nikki noticed that he was looking at her. "What?"

"What's the matter? Are you afraid of the dark?" Knuckles mocked.

"No!" Nikki yelled defensively. "There's just not a whole lot of room in here."

Knuckles then gave her a smirk. "Aw, so you're claustrophobic."

"Gazuntite."

"No, it means you're afraid of being trapped."

She gave him a look. "I'm not scared, Knuckles."

"I think the walls are closing in up ahead!"

Nikki nearly jumped, "What?"

"Claustrophobic." Knuckles repeat with an amused smirk.

"Not funny."

"Really? Because it's hilarious from where I'm standing."

"I wonder what you would look like with a shade of pink, I think Tails has some paint in his workshop."

"Try it and you're dead!"

After a few more rounds of banter, there was an eerie silence between them.

Not being able to stand it any longer, Knuckles finally spook up. "Okay, what's wrong now?"

"Hmm?"

"During this whole entire trip, you never stopped talking, and now you decide to keep your mouth shut? What gives?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Nikki tried to hide that something was else bothering her, but it was obvious to Knuckles.

"The exit shouldn't be too far now."

"It's not that."

"Then, what is it?"

Nikki hesitated for a moment, really debating on whether or not to bring this up. "Knuckles…what was my father like? I mean, I've already heard about him from other people and news stories and stuff, but…you actually knew him, right?"

_Oh great, she had to ask me. Why couldn't she ask Tails? _Knuckles sighed. "Well, lets see…to me he was a show off, annoying…" His eyes glared behind him in her direction, "…like some other hedgehog I know." He then looked away and continued. "I have to say the most annoying part about him was…no matter what happened, he always had a positive outlook on it. Nothing seemed to phase him. I hate to admit it, but the things that guy went through…I wouldn't have been able to handle it the way he did. I envied him for the longest time. I wanted to have the same carefree life he did, as well as his resolve." Knuckles looked back to see if Nikki was paying attention, she was. "Many of the things a remember about him…I see in you."

Nikki was surprised. Being a national hero, her father had a massive reputation. Of course, the media and people that hardly knew the blue hedgehog at all, would've over exaggerated his personality, so naturally she stayed away from those sources. But now hearing this from Knuckles, someone that actually knew her father…true, he did say that her father annoyed him, but he also said in a way that he respected him as well. Because of that, she knew he was being honest with her and not just telling her that her father was a great hero, which she appreciated. She smiled, happy with Knuckles' response.

Knuckles smiled back. He then realized what he said. "You tell anyone I said that, and you'll regret it."

"Don't worry, my lips are sealed." Nikki smiled. "And, thanks."

It wasn't just a few steps around the corner that they saw a light leading to the end of the tunnel. The tunnel opened up wider toward the end and Nikki was able to dash past Knuckles, eager to get out of the cramped cavern. The white curtain of light came to meet her and she quickly closed her eyes and waited a moment for them to adjust.

Her emerald eyes opened and revealed the paradise that laid before her. Looking out over the cliff, she saw the forest landscape that blanketed the cavern. A waterfall roared in the distance and a white ribbon of water peaked from behind the cliff side trees on the other side. At the very heart of this paradise, was the ancient city, blending into the landscape like it was welcomed to stay forever by the forest. But the one thing that surprised the young hedgehog the most was the wind that still blew in the seemingly enclosed cavern. She stood there for a moment, taking in everything the scenery had to offer.

Knuckles looked on from the mouth of the cavern. Nikki seemed so relaxed and at peace. The young hedgehog looked to her right and saw a natural pathway that appeared to lead down toward the forest below.

She gave a confident smile to the path ahead of her. _Time to get a closer look._

The small blue blur dashed off down the path. Knuckles chuckled a little and then ran after her, this was the only place on Mobius where he could let his guard down.

In no time at all, Nikki had effortlessly dodged every natural obstacle and dashed straight toward the city. She slowed down, stepped past the gateway and looked up at the massive stone buildings. They looked similar to the pyramid, only had a more elegant look to them. There were water ways that ran throughout the city, bridges allowed safe passage over the water and there were canal boats that also gave another travel route through the city. The stone path lead her toward the heart of the city. A huge obelisk stood tall in the courtyard's center. She was about to walk toward it when Knuckles finally caught up to her.

She turned around to see Knuckles trying to catch his breath. She then looked back at the obelisk. "Hey Knux, what's that?"

Knuckles looked forward to see what she was talking about. His eyes looked surprised for a moment, but then he quickly regained his composure and then replied. "Ah, we can come back to that later. Right now, we need to get to my house. I'm sure Julie's probably worried that it took us so long to get here."

"Julie?" Nikki looked confusingly at Knuckles.

"Don't worry, you'll meet her." He then runs off toward his destination. Nikki looked back at the obelisk in the distance and then quickly follows suit.

It didn't take them very long to get there. It wasn't that far from the center of the massive city. Mobians were doing their own thing as the two just ran through the city. Most of them were echidnas, but there were a few other varieties as well. Knuckles stopped at one house and then took a deep breath. He walked up the steps and then knocked on the door. They could both hear voices on other side.

"I got it! I got it!"

"Lucky, stop it!"

Knuckles gave a slightly annoyed look. "Oh boy, _they're_ here."

The noise continued, "Ha! Uncle Vector, I beat you!"

The door finally opened and a young excited bee greeted them. "Oh, hi Uncle Knuckles!"

Nikki tried to contain her laughter, "Uncle Knuckles?"

The bee noticed Nikki a little behind Knuckles and then darted toward her. "Hi, I haven't seen you here before. What's your name?"

"Nikki." She raised one of her eyebrows a little. This bee didn't know anything about personal space and was literally just inches away from her face.

The bee then took her hand and shook it. "Nice to meet ya! I'm Lucky."

"You're not gonna be when I'm done with ya, you little-!" A tall crocodile stopped at the doorway when he saw Knuckles. "Hey Knux, how's it goin'?"

Knuckles crossed his arms and smirked, "Hey Vector. Is Julie around?"

"Yeah, she's inside but…" Vector leans in to whisper to Knuckles. "I'd probably run if I were you."

Knuckles raised his brow a little and gave a slightly confused look to Vector. The crocodile continued, "She's really ticked that your late."

A female voice rang from inside. "Vector, who's there?"

"Um, it's nobody." Vector yelled back, he then whispers to Knuckles. "Now's your chance, I'll hold her back."

The red echidna gave Vector a slightly irritated look. "Come on, I'm sure she's not that pissed." He then walked in.

Nikki started to walk forward when Vector leaned down, finally noticing the young hedgehog. "Well, hello. Who's this?"

Nikki gave a smirk and was about to answer when Knuckles called behind him, "Nikki! Come on!"

"Coming!" Nikki yelled back and then moved passed the crocodile. She then turned back and gave him a salute. "Pleasure meeting you, Veck." She then continued to dash forward and into the entry way.

A fuchsia echidna was leaning against the doorway to the living room, her arms crossed. "So, I take it your name is 'nobody' now."

Knuckles too crossed his arms, but gave her a smile. "It would be without you."

The girl echidna shook her head and smiled. She then ran to Knuckles and embraced him. "Oh, I missed you."

Knuckles embraced her back. "I missed you, too." He then glanced back at Vector, who was utterly shocked by Julie's actions. "What's up, Vector? Surprised?"

"B-but she-okay, what's going on here?"

Knuckles and Julie looked at each other and Knuckles noticed she raised one of her eyebrows. "I'm still in trouble, aren't I?"

"Yeah, big time. Why did it take you so long to get here, what happened? I heard from Cream you were going to be late because you were training someone, but you still should've made it back here yesterday. We were worried about you."

"Sorry, we kind of…ran into a little trouble on the way is all. Nothing serious."

She gave a doubtful look. "Really, nothing serious?"

"I'll tell you about it later."

She then looked at Nikki who was standing just a few feet away. "And you must be Nikki. I've heard about you."

_Finally, someone I don't know gets my name right. _Even though someone probably told Julie, it was still nice for her not to be referred to as 'Sonic' for once. The young hedgehog nods, "Nice to meet you."

The female echidna then looked back at Knuckles. "Oh, Mace was looking for you. He's in the living room."

Knuckles gave her a confused look. He then shrugged his shoulders, "Alright." Just before he turned the corner he stopped and looked back at Julie. "Oh, Julie. Nikki and I didn't get a chance to rest before traveling here, could you make sure that Nikki gets some rest?"

"What? I'm not tired." Nikki defended, but her tired eyes told Knuckles different.

"Ah huh, sure you're not." the red echidna chuckled.

"I'll take care of her." Julie said softly.

Knuckles then headed into the living room. There was another red echidna, though he was younger than Knuckles, in his teens in fact. He was wearing a blue council uniform and was sitting on the couch. His blue eyes looked at Knuckles as he entered. "Brother."

"Hey Mace. What's going on?"

The blue eyed echidna shook his head, "You forgot, didn't you? The council meeting? It's today."

Knuckles eyes suddenly changed to a surprised look…yeah he forgot.

Mace sighed, "Oh boy. You haven't prepared for it either?"

Knuckles shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "Kind of had problems of my own to deal with the past couple days."

"Knuckles, this is important. You are the Master Emerald's Guardian, your presence is required."

Knuckles sighed and muttered under his breath, "Never really wanted to go in the first place. Fine, what time does the meeting start then?"

"Right now, I wasn't going to go if you weren't going to show up."

Knuckles nods to his brother, "Lets get going."

* * *

The resounding voices echoed off the walls of the grand hall. The elders and other council members were talking, bickering, voicing their opinions…yeah it was kind of starting to become a yelling match than an actual meeting. Knuckles and Mace ran into the room and the council members suddenly silenced and looked at them.

_Yeah, this isn't awkward at all. _Knuckles thought to himself sarcastically.

One elder echidna broke the silence. "So, the great guardian finally decides to join us."

Mace stepped forward. "Your honor, the guardian was on an important mission and had just arrived in the city only recently. May we request postponing this meeting for a later time?"

"This meeting has been postponed long enough, Kneecapeon." The same old impatient echidna spoke. "The matter of the future guardian must be discussed now."

Mace looked back at his brother and gave an apologetic shrug. Knuckles then stepped forward and crossed his arms. "We have already discussed this, I'm not training another guardian. That's final."

"Your ancestors bestowed that duty onto you and it is your duty as guardian to pass down that responsibility."

"Who are you to decide what my _duty_ is? I am the Master Emerald's Guardian, which means my loyalties lie with the Master Emerald…not you. If it asked me to train a successor…maybe I'll do it, but since that is not the case…my answer is still no."

Another elder's voice rang out. "You broke the Master Emerald nine years ago, yet you claim you have the authority to still claim to be it's protector?"

"It was the only way to protect it from the enemy." Knuckles' temper began to rise, but he tried to maintain calm as he defended his actions as well as his honor. "As far as the new guardian is concerned, the Master Emerald needs to accept the next guardian."

"Your daughter was already accepted by the Master Emerald to be your successor." The elder reasoned, his temper rising as well.

"That's beside the point."

"No it is not! It is her destiny, as it was yours when _you_ were chosen."

"Her destiny is _her_ choice! She is too young to make that decision herself and I most certainly will not force her into it, no matter what you say!" Knuckles wasn't backing down. He had his mind made up, and none of these old bats were going to tell him otherwise.

* * *

Meanwhile, Julie had gotten Nikki settled and the young hedgehog found herself quickly falling asleep. She didn't realize how exhausted she really was, she technically didn't really sleep that night her and Knuckles were attacked in the forest. However, just as she was about to drift into a peaceful sleep, a melody softly came to her ears. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around her for any sign of where the music could be coming from. Everyone else in the house were all asleep, so it couldn't have been them. Curiously, she let her acute hearing lead her in the direction of the melody that carried through an open window. She turned around and rushed out the door.

The young hedgehog closed her eyes and listened to the wind. The music reached her again and she followed the invisible path that would most likely lead her to the source. She found herself running toward the center of the city. She looked around her, no one was around…they all must've been sleeping. It was so hard to tell because the whole city was under the mountain.

The melody seemed to be coming from the obelisk that she had seen when she first arrived. Knuckles had said that they would come back here later, but she just couldn't resist the song that lead her closer to the object. There were names engraved on the sides of the black stone. She looked closely, The young hedgehog didn't recognize any of the names…except one.

_Sonic_

Nikki placed her hand on her father's name and ran her fingers through the engraving. She knew what this must've been…though she couldn't bring herself to even think of it. Suddenly, the back of her head started burning a little and she reached her hand behind her head. The Chaos Drive was reacting to something in the stone. Sonic's name began to glow bright white and then the glow spread through the stone until the whole obelisk was shrouded in white. Nikki felt the stones shifting under her feet.

_Oh no, not again!_

She jumped back and watched as the stones slid down and formed a cascade of steps down into the ground around the base of the obelisk. Suddenly, she heard a soft voice in the wind around her.

"_I've been waiting for you…"_

* * *

Author's Note: Oh boy, what trouble has she gotten herself into this time? lol. And who is that mysterious voice? Find out in the next chapter. :)

For Future Chapter Info, check my profile.


	11. Chapter 11: The Call

Yay! Chapter's finally done lol. Sorry about the wait and Merry (late) Christmas! :) Yeah, I know it's a little short, but this was originally the late half of the previous chapter.

Anyway, without further delay. Here is Chapter 11! Enjoy! :)

* * *

_**Chapter 11: The Call**_

* * *

_**Narrator: None, third person format.**_

_With my most recent experience with disembodied voices, I really shouldn't go down there… _The young hedgehog debated for a moment, then shrugged. _eh, I'm too curious._

She stepped onto the spiral staircase and then ran at what was a slow pace for her down the stairs. At the end of the staircase was a large walkway. It was decorated with beautiful murals and motifs on the walls. Along with the music, a chant also came through the halls ahead of her.

_Pure as the morning star_

_Ever strong and brave of heart_

_Young gentle wind, hear my call_

_Oh, young gentle wind, hear my call._

_Emerald shining bright_

_Even where the darkness lies_

_Crystal of the light, hear my call_

_Crystal of the light, hear my call_

Nikki continued down the hall, still listening carefully to the array of voices that surrounded her.

_Current flow between us_

_The light and the virtuous_

_Malevolence shall be undone_

_Will and soul unite as one_

The young hedgehog finally came to a corner and a bright light shined in the room ahead.

_The will and the soul, unite as one…_

She walked in the massive room. The grand hall was all but empty, except for a single green crystal in the room's center. The murals from the hallway had spread out across the walls in the great hall. Nikki glanced around the room, trying to catch a glimpse of who was singing.

"Hello?" Nikki called out. "Anyone here?" _Tell me I'm not just hearing voices._

_Ah, there you are. _The soft voice echoed. Nikki couldn't tell if it was male or female. It sounded like two people were speaking at exactly the same time, but the voices were so serene, so calm.

"Where are you?"

_Toward the stairs._

The young hedgehog stepped closer to the steps leading up to the altar.

_There…can you see me now?_

Nikki realized…it was the crystal that was speaking to her! She stepped closer, taking one step onto the stairs. "Who are you?"

_I am who I appear to be…well, a single fragment._

"Fragment?"

_Yes. Almost a decade ago, my protector shattered me to keep my power away from those that mean to cause harm to the world. As it was my wish for him to do so. I was brought here, while the other fragments of what I once was were hidden._

Nikki crossed her arms and gave the crystal her usual smirk. "You still didn't answer my question." Her eyes closed as she explained further. "You told me what you are, not _who_ you are."

There was slight hint of a laugh behind the crystal's voice as it spoke. _Very clever. I suppose it is difficult to tell in this state. I am a fragment of the Master Emerald, controller of the Seven Servers._

Nikki's eyes sprang open. "Wait a minute, the same Master Emerald from the stories?"

_Yes._

The young hedgehog's eyebrows raised and she was amazed. "Whoa." Then her attention turned to the important question. "So, why did you lead me here?"

_As I said before, I have been waiting for you a long time. I was made aware of your presence within the city and took the opportunity to contact you. There is something of great importance that you must know before it is too late…_

The crystal then glowed brighter and lit the murals on the walls in an array of colors. The young hedgehog looked around her and saw that the murals were actually moving as if they were alive. Knowing it was the Master Emerald doing this, Nikki wasn't threatened by it and simply watched in amazement.

_Every creature in the world has a connection to the energy that the emeralds provide. Though most are not aware of this…and for a select few…the connection is clearer, natural. These few are known as Emerald Guardians, not to be confused with the Guardian of the Master Emerald however. The Emerald Guardians were called in times of great peril to protect the world, as well as the souls that dwell with it…Your father, was one of them._

The young hedgehog's eyes showed a deep feeling of surprise and slight confusion. The crystal continued…

_That same connection…has been passed onto you as well. Though the choice is solely your own, it is with my greatest hope that you accept this task. I cannot tell exactly what is destined to happen, but what I can say is that sometime in the future…an event will take place that will destroy this world if nothing is done to stop it._

"If you don't know exactly how this is gonna happen, then how can I stop it?"

_I take it that is a yes, then?_

Nikki's eyes closed in thought, "If it does come to that, knowing myself, I would do everything in my power to make sure that it doesn't happen."

_I knew I could count on you…_

_The light from the crystal grew brighter and then the tiles on the floor lit up. Just as the light began to circle her however, a dark shadow rose up into the center of the room._

"_**What are you playing at?" **_The dark shadow manifested itself and revealed her true form…it was her dark counterpart. _**"Did you honestly think I'd let you get away with this treachery?"**_

"Treachery? From what I can remember, _you_ were the one that can't be trusted, not me." Nikki spoke valiantly.

The dark shadow laughed maliciously, _**"Do you just miraculously forget this every time we meet? I am you, we're one and the same."**_

"I will _never_ be like you!" Nikki shouted confidently over the sound of the roaring wind and clashing energy around her. "So you can just crawl back to wherever it is you _really_ came from!"

Her dark counterpart shook her head and sighed, _**"You're so stubborn. Fine then, if you insist on turning against me…then you leave me no choice."**_

The shadow charged at her, but Nikki extended her spikes on her arms and then blocked her double's attack. "You're wrong, you do have a choice…one, get out of my way…or two…I make you!" The pure hearted of the two pushed the other back.

Her double effortlessly caught her footing and gave her pure counterpart a sinister look. _**"Grave mistake." **_The evil hedgehog began to take in the energy around her.

Nikki noticed what her double was doing and charged in at her. "Oh, no you don't!" As she leaped to grab her, the evil hedgehog grabbed her and then threw her forward, further away from the crystal. She caught herself and looked toward the sinister being now between her and the piece of the Master Emerald.

The energy surrounding the two increased dramatically. It felt like the whole place was going to come down. Suddenly, Nikki heard the same music in the wind around her.

_Pure as the morning star_

_Ever strong and brave of heart_

_Young gentle wind, hear my call_

_Oh, young gentle wind, hear my call._

Then the music slowed a little. It was like it was waiting for something. Then she heard the Emerald's voice in the wind. _Answer the call…_

Nikki then thought that she may have realized what the Master Emerald wanted her to do. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Using the music around her as a guide, she sang…

_Emerald shining bright_

_Even where the darkness lies_

_Crystal of the light, hear my call_

_Crystal of the light, hear my call_

As the evil hedgehog heard her, she rushed toward her. _**"NO!"**_

Her dark counterpart extended her spikes and tried to run her through, but Nikki continued as she came forward. Both the Emerald and the young hero's voice were heard in the wind.

_Current flow between us_

_The light and the virtuous_

Nikki caught her double's spike with her bare hand. Her eyes opened, they were as bright as the Emerald across from her.

_Malevolence shall be undone_

Nikki took a step closer to her dark counterpart, she looked to be in complete control of the wind and energy around her.

The shadow was trying her best to keep herself calm, but knowing that she could be incinerated by either Nikki or the newly-powered Master Emerald wasn't helping matters. _**"This isn't over…Someday, you'll find yourself in a situation you can't get yourself out of…and then you'll come to me, begging for my help."**_

Nikki's voice combined with the wind around her. _"For claiming to be me, you really don't know me at all, do you? But I know you, you're as readable as an open book. All you care about is your freedom and bloodlust. I will never ask for your help, I would rather die than take the chance at loosing myself to you. You'll never win…"_

_The young heroic hedgehog gave her counterpart a smirk. "…not while I'm standing in your way."_

The evil hedgehog gave her a dark sinister look. _**"We'll see about that." **_The shadow then disappeared.

* * *

Back at the council meeting, Knuckles and the elders were still arguing with each other. Suddenly, a brown echidna busted into the room. "The entrance to the chamber has been opened!"

Everyone in the room silenced and their looks changed from anger to shocked.

Knuckles and Mace looked at each other and then Knuckles takes off out of the room. Mace looked at the elders. One of the elders spoke, "We shall continue this later."

Mace then dashed out of the room and caught up to his older brother.

It didn't take them too long to get to the obelisk. The entrance was still open and guards were waiting to see who would come out. One of them turns to see Knuckles and Mace running toward them. "Master Guardian, Sir Kneecapeon, you've arrived."

Mace spoke first, "Has anyone exited yet?"

"No sir. We've been waiting. We tried to enter, but there seems to be another force holding us back."

"That's because the Master Emerald doesn't want you to enter." Knuckles stated. He then took a closer look at the entrance. _Doesn't look like anyone broke in._

Knuckles stood up and then took a step forward toward the stairway. He then looked back to his brother and the guards. "I'm going in." the red echidna then rushed down the stairs as fast as he could.

Once he came to the front of the long hallway, Knuckles felt the energy of the Master Emerald surge around him. He could sense that the Master Emerald wasn't in danger. In fact he felt a sense of calm as he ran down the hall.

The red echidna stopped in the entry way when he saw who it was standing in the middle of the room. "…Nikki?"

Just as Nikki turned to look back, the energy from the Master Emerald wore off. She felt like she was about to pass out. "…Knuck…"

Knuckles saw her start to fall and then rushed toward her. He caught the young hedgehog before she hit the ground. "You alright?"

Nikki shook her head back and forth to try and regain focus. "Just a little dizzy."

The red echidna chuckled. "Yeah, that usually happens the first time around."

Knuckles heard his brother shout from the top of the stairs. "Is everything alright down there?"

"I'll be right back, just wait here." Knuckles then got up and ran toward the stairs. He stooped at the base of the stairway so his brother could hear him. "Everything's fine! False alarm!"

Mace knew what his brother really meant by that. Something did happen down there, but Knuckles didn't want the other guards to know about it. He turned and looked at the guards. "Well, you heard him. There's nothing to worry about. Thank you for your services."

The guards bowed respectively, "Sir." And then they all take their leave.

After hearing that his brother took care of the guards, Knuckles runs back to Nikki's side. "Okay, the guards are gone. There's no rush, just take it easy."

Normally, Nikki would be rushing to her feet. But due to the fatigue from using the Master Emerald's energy and the lack of sleep for the past few days, Nikki didn't argue this time. "Alright."

Knuckles was piecing together what he had just witnessed. _So the Master Emerald called her here as well… _He glanced over at the crystal on the altar, as if to ask what it had seen to bring this on.

* * *

Knuckles and Mace took Nikki back to the Master Guardian's home. After the young hedgehog was sound asleep, Knuckles met with the others in the living room. He contacted Tails on his communicator and put it on speaker.

After explaining everything that happened from the forest to the incident at the crystal altar, there's a short pause on the other line.

"…Well, this is new." Tails finally stated.

"Yeah, I know." Knuckles agreed.

Julie was pondering as well, "Did Sonic ever have the same experience, with the Master Emerald I mean?"

"Not that I can recall", the communicator responded. "I know he had a connection with the Chaos Emeralds and the Super Emeralds, but the Master Emerald? I don't think I remember that."

"That's because I made sure no one else got near the Master Emerald, remember?" Knuckles plainly stated.

"Oh yeah, that could be it." Tails chuckled.

Julie repositioned herself on the couch, sensing that they were going to be discussing this matter for a while. "So, did you find out from Nikki what happened down there?"

Knuckles shook his head. "No. She was too exhausted, so I didn't really get the chance to ask her."

"We could find that out when she wakes up. What did you see while you were down there?" The communicator asked.

"It definitely looked like the Master Emerald was communicating with her. Almost the same way I would." Knuckles recalled.

Mace thought for a minute. "According to what I have researched in the past, it's not that unheard of for the Master Emerald to choose two Master Guardians in the event of a rising crisis. Due to current events, and by what you described, it could be possible that this could be the case."

"We don't know that." The guardian disagreed.

"Knuckles, you know what you saw. You said it yourself." His brother reasoned.

"All I'm saying is that Sonic had that same connection with the emeralds, it doesn't mean that the Master Emerald chose two successors." Knuckles closed his eyes in thought. "It simply means that Nikki has the abilities to use the Chaos Emeralds just like her father."

The communicator spoke, "I don't know, something doesn't add up."

"What do mean, Tails?"

"Well, you just said that Nikki can use Chaos Drives. Sonic never could, there just wasn't enough power in them to pull that off."

Knuckles agreed with him. "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing."

"Wow, you were thinking? That's new." Vector chuckled.

"Shut it, Vector!"

"Guys, focus!" Tails shouted from the other line. He then let out a huge sigh as he tried to figure all this out. "Okay…maybe Nikki can amplify the power source somehow." "We'll have to test this out when you two get back."

"I'm still going to see the professor about this, he might know what's going on."

Tails liked the sound of that. "Good call, Knux. Alright, I'll run some calculations and expect to hear from you."

Knuckles nodded, "Sounds good."

Julie then remembered one important detail. "What about the council?"

Knuckles' eyelids fell at the annoying thought of getting those old bats involved. "Best to keep this a secret for now."

Mace nodded. "I agree. If they find out about Nikki's abilities, they might try to force her into this. They don't understand the way Chaos Energy works like you guys do."

Knuckles rolled his eyes, "Ain't that the truth."

"Alright, then it's settled. So Knuckles, you're taking Nikki to the professor and see what you can find out. If you run into any problems, call me back. Mace, do you think you can keep the council in the dark about Nikki?"

Mace smirked, "No problem."

"Good. Oh, and one more thing Knux. When you and the professor start training Nikki in Chaos Energy, make sure not to push her limits. We don't know how much she can actually amplify that energy. If she takes in too much-"

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. Don't worry, I'll make sure she takes it easy."

"I know I can count on you. Good luck guys, be safe."

"Yeah, you too." Knuckles turned off the communicator and turned to the others with sarcasm in his tone. "Oh boy…this is gonna be fun."

* * *

A mysterious professor that knows about the science of Chaos Energy...who is it? And will Nikki learn how to control her abilities?

Also, a surprise that Nikki never expected.

Next in Sonic's Legacy, Chapter 12.

To find out about Chapter Updates, check profile.


	12. Chapter 12:  Heritage

Here it is! Chapter 12. Here we get to see some of Nikki's *chuckle* gracefulness. And also a surprise that she never expected.

Anyway, Enjoy! :)

* * *

**_Chapter 12: Heritage_**

* * *

_**Narrator: None, third person format.**_

"So, who is it that we're going to see again?" Nikki looked curiously at the trees around her as they walked down the path.

"You'll see for yourself, we're almost there."

Nikki rolled her eyes, "You said that a few minutes ago."

Knuckles hid his irritation, but it still showed a little in his tone. "Then stop asking." It's moments like this that he could swear that Nikki was Sonic's clone and not just his daughter.

They had left the city just ten minutes ago, though they were still in the massive underground paradise. They were in the jungle area now, which was so thick with trees that trying to run through it would be hazardous (not to mention more so for Nikki since she has no brakes).

Nikki placed her hands behind her head and looked up at the branches. "If he's a professor, then why does he live so far away from the rest of the city?"

"He likes to keep to himself." Knuckles answered plainly.

The young hedgehog looked ahead of Knuckles and could see the trees were spread further apart up ahead. As if he was reading Nikki's natural instinct, Knuckles gave her a smirk and picked up the pace. Nikki quickly followed suit and passed Knuckles up past the break in the trees.

_Yep, definitely Sonic's clone._

Just a few steps past the trees and Nikki could see the house in question. It looked different than the rest of the buildings that were near the city. In fact, it was the most modern looking thing in the entire site. Made of metal instead of stone, the walls of the structure reflected the light of the crystals suspending from the cavern ceiling more than a hundred feet above them.

Knuckles jumped through the trees into the clearing next to Nikki. He looked down at the young hedgehog. "Well, lets see if he's home."

He walked up to the door and knocked lightly with the back of his hand. "Professor?" He tapped a little louder this time. "Professor, it's Knuckles. Are you there?"

"I'm coming, keep your shoes on!" The voice resounded from the other side of the door, but it sounded more like it was coming from the back of the house. The door opened and Nikki's eyes widened with surprise by who was standing in the doorway.

The elder, grayish blue hedgehog looked down at the young hedgehog at his feet almost in disbelief. "…Sonica?"

Knuckles attention switched back and forth between the two hedgehogs. He knew about this already, but what he wasn't sure of…was what Nikki's reaction would be to this.

Nikki's look didn't change. She blinked a few times, maybe to see if there was really another blue hedgehog standing in front of her.

The elder hedgehog's eyelids lowered a little. "You…don't remember me, do you? Of course I wouldn't expect you to, you were too young."

Suddenly, he found the young hedgehog swiftly wrapping her arms around his waist. "…Uncle Charlie!"

Knuckles nearly laughed out loud. "Charlie?"

"She couldn't say 'Charles' alright?"

"And what is this 'uncle' business? Shouldn't there be a 'great' in front of it?"

"Watch it, Red."

The young hedgehog released her great-uncle and looked curiously up at him. "What are you doing here? Why didn't you come looking for me?"

Knuckles' eyes widened a little. _Oh boy, this might not end well._

"Believe me, I did." Charles knelt down next to his great-niece. "When I saw…" The old hedgehog suddenly remembered he was talking to a child and cut himself short.

Her emerald eyes met his light blue irises. "Go on, I can handle it."

_Just like her dad_. Charles thought to himself. He then took a deep breath and continued. "When I saw the village, I thought you…were taken just like the others. I still looked everywhere I could, just in case."

"They sent me to the orphanage as far from that place as possible." Nikki clarified as she crossed her arms. She then smiled. "It's not your fault."

The elder gave her a smile back in return. Knuckles was starting to get where Sonic, as well his daughter, got their personality from. Charles was fairly similar to Sonic in likeness, well aside from his white mustache and his lighter fur color and eyes to match. But his resolve, and that same determined smirk…all of it was definitely hereditary.

Charles looked at the red echidna, who was still sort of staring at the two slightly puzzled. "Well, why don't you both come in."

As usual, Nikki rushed in while Knuckles walked and stepped inside into the living room. Charles followed and lightly closed the door behind him.

After they got settled, Knuckles explained everything to Charles. Charles was fixing Knuckles' right eye as they talked. Nikki's gaze drifted from echidna to hedgehog as they spoke. She understood almost every word…that is, until her great-uncle started trying to come up with theories to explain what might have been happening to Nikki at those moments.

"Her body could be acting as a conductor for the Chaos Energy. Sounds like some kind of magnetism of some sort."

She could imagine her great-uncle and Tails talking to each other and herself getting utterly lost in their conversations. Lucky for her this time, Knuckles had to ask Charles to 'speak English' a few times (which she paid close attention to learn the meaning of those scientific words.)

"Well, if Tail's suspicions prove conclusive, then we certainly should show caution while training Nikki." Charles just finished the repairs, "There you are, good as new."

"Thanks…So, my guess is that meant we should be careful then?"

"Indeed."

"Then why didn't you just say that to begin with?"

"Because it drives you mad." Charles answered with a smirk.

_Yep, no doubt now. You two are definitely related. _Knuckles thought to himself. He let out a drug out sigh, "So where do we start?" He then gave the professor a stern look, "…and I would like the English version of the answer, if you don't mind."

Charles laughed a little, "Certainly. Well first of all, I need to collect some base data. I need to see how fast Nikki can run."

Now, it was Knuckles' turn to laugh, "Good luck."

Charles gave the echidna a confusing look. "Why? She has the capability to run as fast as her father, I saw that when she was young."

Yeah, Nikki remembered that one…she crashed right into the nearest tree.

"Yeah, she can run alright. Just gonna have trouble getting her to stop, no brakes." He shrugged.

Charles pondered for a moment. "Well this can't be right, she should have excellent reflexes…" Then he looked at the young hedgehog, particularly at her feet. He saw the condition of her shoes. _Bingo._

"Nikki, may I see the soles of your shoes?"

Nikki was sitting on the couch and just lifted her feet while giving her great-uncle a confusing look. Charles knelt down to her level and took a closer look at the bottom of her shoes.

_Just as I thought, the soles are completely worn down. No traction. _He probably could've just guessed that from the duct tape taped around each shoe. He looked back up at his great-niece, "Wait right here."

He stood up and walked into one of the back rooms of the house. Knuckles and Nikki heard the elder hedgehog rummaging through the possible clutter in the back closet.

Charles re-enters the room with a box slightly covered in dust. "Here we are." He takes the lid off to reveal a pair of sneakers. They actually looked like they hadn't been used at all, like they were brand new. He takes them out of the box and hands them to her. "Try these."

Nikki took her old shoes off quickly and then slipped the two red sneakers on. A perfect fit. She jumped down from the couch and tapped them on the ground to test the space she had in them. They were extremely comfortable, especially for not looking worn in the least.

"So what do you say, want to take them out for a test run?"

Nikki looked up and smiled, "You bet."

* * *

It didn't take them long to get there, it was practically around the corner from the house. They just walked through a small cave wall and there was the cavern-like track. It had numerous jumps and loops, it actually looked more like a wild roller coaster ride than an actual race track.

Nikki had never ran upside down before, she didn't know if she could really do this course. But, true her nature, that thought didn't stay long and she rushed to the starting line.

Charles took out a laptop with an antenna attached to it. "Okay Nikki, try and run this course as fast as you can. Hold nothing back, alright?"

"No problem." Nikki gave him thumbs up showing she was ready.

The elder of the two watched the loading bar on the screen. "Okay…and…" The bar finished loading and the clock started. "Go!"

Nikki pushed herself from the starting point and dashed forward. The two on the sidelines watched as Nikki gracefully ran through the course with effortless ease. They both were instantly reminded of the hero they knew so well as his legacy was now flipping through one of the hurdles ahead of her. She glanced ahead and saw a ramp with large gap between the track. Without hesitation, she picked up the pace, now she was just a blue blur. A loud booming sound echoed through the cavern. Sparks ignited with each step. The young hedgehog began to glow bright blue and then disappeared for a split second. Before they could ask where she went, she reappeared in mid air and gracefully landed on the other side.

Charles smiled a little as he understood what he had just seen. Knuckles blinked a few times and shook it off. _There's no way she just teleported, right?_

Nikki glanced ahead of her again and saw the first upside down loop. The massive structure looked to be taunting her as she sped closer. Her eyes narrowed and she picked up the pace once again, but once she was upside down, her equilibrium gave out and she tried to spin to right herself, but it was too late. She dropped to the bottom of the loop about halfway and then fell right on her back with a thud.

Knuckles and Charles rushed to Nikki's side.

"You alright?"

Nikki sat up and blew her bangs out of her face. "That was awesome!"

Her great-uncle gave her a slightly confused look while Knuckles laughed in the background. "Yep typical."

"So, can I go again?" Nikki was grinning from ear to ear now. She was more than ready for another go.

"Hold on, lets take a look at the results really quick first." Charles took out the laptop again and looked over the readings he got from Nikki's run so far. His eyebrows raise when he saw the point where Nikki jumped over the gorge. "Just as I suspected."

"What?" Nikki asked curiously.

"Nikki, when you jumped over the ramp, what did it feel like?"

"Well, I felt weightless for a minute…" She tried recap exactly what happened in that short amount of time. "I sped up, then jumped and flipped and landed on the other side."

Now Knuckles was really confused, he didn't see that at all.

"Okay so it wasn't teleportation."

"What? Didn't you see all that?" Now Nikki was the one confused.

"To tell you the truth Nikki, we couldn't see you at all for two seconds." Knuckles shrugged.

"We didn't, but the scanner did." Charles looked over the results a few more times to be absolutely sure he was right.

Both Knuckles and Nikki shot him a confusing look.

"What do you mean professor?"

"According to this, Nikki ran as fast as the speed of sound…and then in that brief second…surpassed it."

"What?" Both the echidna and the young hedgehog jumped up. Nikki knew she could run as fast as the speed of sound, but only for a brief moment. However, now her great-uncle was trying to tell her that she even passed well over 768 miles an hour? _Good luck trying to catch her to give a speeding ticket._

"But…that's impossible. She's only eight."

Charles gave the echidna a smirk, "Numbers don't lie, Knuckles…she topped the scale at 800."

If it was any more possible, Knuckles' eyes widened even more. "_Could she really be as fast as her father when he was twenty?"_

"Well, unlike her father, she can't control it yet obviously. However once she does, you can bet that it will be more than easy to out run the fastest of the Exus' weapon systems."

This was exactly the kind of information they have been waiting for. All they have to do is make sure to keep Nikki safe into adulthood and Surge's rein would be over.

* * *

_Which is going to be more difficult if she kills herself. _Knuckles couldn't help but think after Nikki's tenth attempt to get past that darn loop failed. His gloved hand covered his face and he shook his head.

This time, Nikki had given too much speed at the top of the loop and then was sent flying back toward the ramp and fell into the water between both sides. She came up for air and shook the water off her soaked head. The young hedgehog then growled in frustration. "Seriously?"

Charles couldn't help but laugh, he knew she was fine. As if to prove that she climbed out of the water, shook the liquid off of her soaked shoes and looked up at the others. "Again, one more time. I can get this."

Charles smiled and nodded, "Alright, just once more. After all, it is getting late."

Nikki gave him a confusing look, "Really?" She then looked up at the cavern ceiling above her, showing that there were no sign telling her if that was fact. "How can you tell?"

The elder hedgehog pointed to the ceiling to the right. "See those crystals in the cavern ceiling?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well they change color due to the amount of natural Chaos Energy around them, which changes through out the day. They'll turn a faint blue when night approaches."

"Oh." The young hedgehog was still staring at the ceiling.

"And they're green during the day." The echidna added. "The Master Emerald rests it's energy a little during the night and blue is the natural color of the cave crystals."

"Okay, so they're not blue yet." She dashed forward toward the starting line and readied for another go. "Kay ready."

"Go ahead." Charles looked back at his laptop again to clock her speed.

The young blue blur dashed forward, passing every obstacle with incredible ease and not showing any signs of fatigue from running the same first half of the course repetitively for an hour straight. She reached the wretched loop that mocked her so many times and she sped up, but now she decided to try something new.

_This whole time I've been running too fast, maybe I need to back off just a little._

She dashed up at an almost vertical angle and felt everything around her begin to turn upside down. She felt the pressure of gravity pushing her into the track, but kept moving forward. She slowed her speed down just a little at the top, letting the natural physics of momentum and motion do the work. The young hedgehog saw that she was heading toward the downward side of the track and realized that she finally made it. She laughed in triumph, "Yes!"

Not stopping there she continued speeding toward the rest of the track, the cheering of her great-uncle and teacher shouting in the background. Now with more new found confidence, she sped through the rest of the track. And then she saw a tightly cork-screwed track just ahead of her.

"Oh, come on."

As soon as she stepped on the twisted track, Nikki lost control and then plowed into the ground. It was a simple misstep, Nikki knew it. At least she knew what she did wrong this time and would fix that the next time she tried this track out again.

* * *

"Well, all that's left to do is review this data and then make a profile for you. That way, the next time you try running the track again, we can compare it with the previous result."

"Sounds good." Nikki was just excited to run that track again tomorrow. Running that fast never made her feel so alive.

"So, around the same time tomorrow then?" Knuckles asked.

"I'll be here." Charles smiled.

"Great. See ya then." Knuckles started to walk back toward the city and Nikki looked back and waved. "Later Uncle Charlie!"

The echidna and the young hedgehog then leapt back into the forest. Charles shouted from the doorway, "See you soon, Kiddo!"

Reuniting with Nikki again caused a lot of old memories to resurface for the old hedgehog. It was like seeing his nephew all over again. He slowly closed the door behind him and plugged the laptop into his master computer in the back room. It was like he was ten years younger again, but this time he knew how serious training Nikki was going to be…she was the only hope Mobius had of a brighter future.

Knuckles and Nikki were a good distance from the house now and on their way back to the city. "Well, with your new shoes, it should be easier to run though the jungle now." He gave her a smirk, "Wanna race?"

Nikki returned his smirk with her own, "Sure." She then sped off so fast that Knuckles barely had enough time to blink. The young hedgehog looked behind her at the red echidna, her voice echoed in the wind.

"Just try and keep up."

* * *

Author's Note: Aww, she's getting to be more like her father every day. :)

Next chapter, we meet Knuckles' daughter for the first time.

For Future Chapter info, check my profile. :)


	13. Chapter 13: Family

Author's Note: Yay! Update! Sorry for the long wait.

Finally, here is Chapter 13. Like I said in my profile, this was going to be an emotional chapter. Plus a lot of character building as well as some new characters. However, there is action in here as well. :)

Thank you to those that reviewed.

Well, you guys have been waiting long enough and I won't keep you waiting any longer.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Chapter 13!

As always, enjoy. :)

* * *

**_Chapter 13: Family_**

* * *

_**Narrator: None, third person format.**_

After leaving Charles' house, Knuckles heads back to his home with Nikki.

"We're back." Knuckles looked around the living room. "Julie, where's Su?"

"On her way home, she stayed late after school again."

Knuckles eyes widened. "What? Again really?" A huge sigh escaped him. "…Who was it this time?"

"Rutan of course. Those two always argue in class."

Knuckles shakes his head.

Julie's lavender eyes met her husband's. "You know, there is another option."

Knuckles gave her look that expressed his immediate thought. "I know what you're thinking and…no"

"Knuckles, you'd be a great teacher."

Nikki expression turned to slight confusion.

_Knux…a teacher?…_

_Yeah, I could see that with fighting, but schooling…_

Nikki couldn't help but give a look showing that she wasn't buying Julie's statement.

"I'm not discussing this with you." Knuckles stood defiantly behind his decision.

Julie crossed her arms. "Alright then, what are you going to tell your daughter when she gets home?"

Knuckles started to say something, but then thought about it and scratched the back of his head.

"I'll…get back to you as soon as I think of something."

Nikki suppressed a laugh. _Of course._

Just then, the sound of the back door closing is heard from the room. Nikki caught sight of something small and red trying to sneak behind the couch and tiptoe quickly toward the stairs.

"Hold it young lady."

The young echidna cringed and then lit up when she recognized her father's voice.

"Dad, you're home!" She then remembered she was probably in trouble. "Oh, you're home."

"Yeah, come here."

Nikki was thinking that this was probably not the right time for her to be in the room. "Oh look at the time, I better…get to bed, see ya."

She was just about to take off when Knuckles caught her by the shirt. "Hold it." She looked back at the echidna holding her back. "You're not going anywhere either."

_Oh come on, really? This is gonna be torture._

The young echidna walked around the couch and came into view. She was still in her school uniform. Her fur was red, just like her dad, but her hair had a hot pink color shine to it and a few strands of it on the left side were tied in a braid. Her lavender eyes looked slightly shocked when she met Nikki's gaze. She wasn't expecting that someone else would be here at this hour.

"Lara-Su…this is Nikki, Sonic's daughter." Knuckles introduced.

Both girls looked at each other for a moment. They both walked up to each other.

"Whoa…"

Suddenly both girls said at the same time. "You look just like him."

They both laughed at the fact they said that at the same time.

Knuckles gives his usual not impressed look. _Great._

"No offense." Nikki said right after.

"None taken, happens all the time."

"No kidding, me too."

"So, you've met my dad?" Nikki asked curiously.

"No, but I've heard a lot about him. I've also seen some pictures in The Freedom Fighters' photo album."

"Pictures really?" Nikki seemed really excited about that.

"Well yeah, all the original Freedom Fighters have one."

"I don't remember asking for one of those." Knuckles thought.

"I requested one." Julie answered him.

Knuckles showed his undying sarcasm. "Outstanding."

"Why, didn't you..?" Su was starting to rethink about bringing that up.

Nikki simply closed her eyes. "No, we…kind of lost it." Which wasn't a total lie, you can "lose" things in a village fire.

"Really? I'm sorry." Su actually knew what she meant. _Right 'stupid', how could you forget about the raid? _Su was actually one year older than Nikki, so she remembered hearing about what happened that day. She was beating herself up now because she thought she should've kept that quiet around Nikki.

"It's alright, I probably wouldn't recognize it if I saw it anyway. I never actually saw it."

"What?" Su was surprised by this. "You mean you never saw your-?"

"Nope." Nikki still had her eyes closed and shook her head. She didn't look too disappointed by it though, but it was a family trait to be able to keep a level head in almost any situation.

"Oh no, this isn't right. Okay, come with me."

Just then, Su grabbed Nikki's wrist and practically dragged her toward the stairs. "Whoa!"

The young echidna stopped at the stairs and turned to her father. "Dad, I know that you really need to talk to me about today, but can we talk about it tomorrow? This is kind of important."

Knuckles and Julie looked at each other. Julie gave her husband a reassuring nod and Knuckles smiled. He then looked at his daughter. "Alright, that's fine. We'll talk tomorrow."

"Thanks Dad." Su smiled.

"Yeah, thanks _Uncle Knuckles_." Nikki teased.

"Don't push it, kid." Knuckles threatened as his eyes lowered.

"Come on." Su called back and led Nikki upstairs to her room.

As soon as they heard the door close, Knuckles and Julie let out a huge sigh.

"That's right, the raid…I forgot about that." Knuckles rubbed the back of his head in realizing that Nikki was actually there when that took place, and was slightly shocked by Nikki's reaction to remembering it.

"That poor girl." Julie gave a worried look toward the stairs.

Knuckles looked at Julie. "It doesn't seem to have too much of an effect on her though. Maybe it was because she was too young to know what was happening."

"Knuckles, some children have ways of hiding what they're really feeling." Julie suddenly got a cold chill. "Believe me, I know." She looked back at her husband. "And I can tell, she's traumatized by it."

"So…what do we do then?"

"Well…" Julie thought for a moment. "We just have to do what you all did for me."

Knuckles gave her a confusing look. "What?"

"We all need to be there for her. If she needs a distraction, then one of us should do something with her, like training, or running or anything for that matter."

Knuckles laughs a little. "That shouldn't be too hard, that kid is easily distracted."

"Knuckles."

"What? You haven't known her that long yet. You'll see."

* * *

Nikki and Su had spent the rest of the night looking though pictures in the photo album. This actually was the first time Nikki had actually seen her father. Now she could see why everyone said that she looked like him. There weren't very many pictures of the heroic hedgehog. Some of them were blurred slightly due to the fact that someone was trying to catch him as he was running, but there were a few that someone had managed to get of him either relaxing on the roof or some other times that he wasn't running faster than the speed of sound.

Su takes one of the pictures out and hands it to Nikki. "Here."

Nikki gently took it and smiled. "Look at that. He's actually posing in this one." In the photo, Sonic was standing giving a thumbs up to the camera. Nikki recognized the familiar smirk that he gave as her own and smiled even more. "In the rest of these, you'd think he was camera shy or something."

"You can keep that one if you want." Su said with a smile.

"Are you sure?"

"Aw, my mom could always get another copy from Cream." The young echidna raised one of her eyebrows. "I insist, take it."

The young hedgehog gave her new-found friend a kind smile. Knowing full well that the precious picture would get lost in her quills, Nikki placed it in her pants' pocket. "Thanks."

Later that night, both girls turned in for the night. Su fell asleep right away, while Nikki was still awake laying on the cot. She stared at the stone ceiling, the young hedgehog had many thoughts floating through her head at the moment.

_Why doesn't Knuckles want to train his own daughter? Now that really doesn't make any sense to me._

She closed her eyes for a moment.

_I'll ask him tomorrow…_

The young hedgehog then reached into her pocket and took out her father's photograph. She looked at it and smiled. A sigh escaped her as she laid her head back and laid the picture on her chest. Her gaze returned to the ceiling. She then finally closed her eyes in an attempt to fall asleep.

* * *

The next morning and Nikki jumped out of her cot and ran down the stairs into the living room.

She greeted Knuckles, who was sitting on the couch. "Hey Knux."

"Hmm? Up already?"

"Yep."

Knuckles then thought for a moment. "Well there's something that I need to take care of before I can leave…Wanna head to Charles' place without me? I'll meet up with you there."

"Sure." Then as quick as a flash, she zipped out the door.

She dashed through the forest area of the cavern and with no time at all made it to her great-uncle's house.

The young hedgehog walked toward the door and knocked. "Uncle Charlie?"

No answer.

She tried again. "Uncle Charlie, it's Nikki. Are you there?"

She stood at the door for a few minutes, tapping her foot. A huge bored sigh escaped her. Suddenly something caught her eye. The curious young hedgehog looked around the back of the house and noticed there was another building behind it. She walked toward the door and almost touched it, but then hesitated for a minute. She looked at the chain next to the door and pulled it. A bell rang softly from the top of the rafters.

Suddenly, something else caught the young hedgehog's attention. Something was rustling behind the bushes. Curiously, she took a few steps toward whatever it was that was coming into the clearing. She could hear the sound of gears moving on the other side. Suddenly a huge robotic arm lunged out of the branches, but Nikki dodged it. She looked at it for a second, it wasn't like the Exus robot's arms…it was too round…too smooth. The Exus robots are more jagged and the metal armor is similar to blades. A chain with wires were attached to the arm, Nikki couldn't help but think that it was a little too primitive to be a member of the Exus army. In fact, the metal was partially rusted in some areas of the arm.

The attacker stepped into the clearing and retracted it's massive arm. Nikki had no idea what to make of this robot.

All the same though, she smirked. "Heh, what do we have here?"

She readied herself for the next attack like a pro. "Should've gotten yourself an upgrade before coming here, rust bucket."

The robot scanned her, it's robotic voice was almost covered by static. "Target acquired. Destroy."

One of Nikki's eyebrows raised a little and she almost chuckled. "Wow, a little outdated up here, ain't ya?" She pointed to her head to emphasize her point.

The robot shot one of it's arms out and the young hedgehog dodged it effortlessly.

_You've gotta be kidding, this is too easy._

Suddenly she heard something else behind her. A blue mechanical arm shot right past her and hit the robot head on.

_What the hell was that?_

She glanced back and saw what looked to be a blue metal hedgehog flying right toward the attacking robot.

Nikki was taken aback for a second. _What on Mobius is going on here?_

The metallic hedgehog took out the robot quickly. It was clear that this stranger was serious about keeping this robot out of the clearing. Nikki saw a small glint come out of the bushes to the side.

Out of instinct, Nikki dashed forward. "Look out!"

She spun and attempted to saw the robot in half, but it turns out to be Knuckles and he blocks her with his shovel claws. "Cool it kid, it's me!"

Nikki jumped back, "Knuckles?"

"You're lucky I had my shovel claws, next time look before you do that!"

Nikki laughed apologetically.

A voice interrupted the two. "Don't be so hard on her Knuckles…"

Nikki suddenly realized where the voice came from. It was the robotic hedgehog that just finished the robot intruder. His voice was so calm, so sincere, it almost took Nikki a moment to register that he was robotic. His eyes looked cybernetic, similar to Knuckles' own right eye, though the color was reddish brown instead of violet. The metallic fur reflected the light emitting from the crystals above them.

"…she was merely watching my back. Had you been a real intruder, I would owe her my life."

Knuckles sighed. "Yeah, that's true."

The metallic hedgehog then turned to the young girl, "Sonica?"

"Yes?" Nikki wasn't afraid by any means. She was well aware of the fact that if this robot intended to harm her, he would've done it back when she was busy fighting the rusted robot. And the way Knuckles was talking to him, told her that he wasn't a threat.

The robot sighed, "I am so glad to finally meet you."

Suddenly something clicked in the young hedgehog's memory. She remembered reading about him in one of Jodi's history books. There was also something else that she remembered about him, and she gave him a smile.

"Good to see you too…Grandfather." She then dashed over and embraced him.

Her grandfather returned her embrace. "How did you know?"

She released him and he left his hand on her shoulder as he listened to his granddaughter. "I read about you, in Mobian history. You were in the Great War with Uncle Charlie."

The metal hedgehog nodded.

While the two hedgehogs were talking, Knuckles walked over to look at the rusted robot on the edge of the clearing. "So, it was another one, huh?"

Nikki's grandfather turned and looked back at the wreckage. "Yep. A Feral, just the last five that came recently."

"A Feral?" Nikki asked.

"One of Eggman's old robots." The metal hedgehog answered. "When his empire fell, his creations were left behind. Now they just run on autopilot, trying to complete whatever mission they were assigned to."

"Oh, so that explains why they don't look like the Exus robots."

Knuckles nodded.

Suddenly the door to the house swung open and the group looked in that said direction.

Charles stopped about halfway, "Jules, everything alright?"

"Yep, we took care of it." The metal hedgehog gave Nikki a wink and she smirked back.

Just then, another hedgehog ran behind Charles. She was a blue hedgehog, but she had blondish grey bangs. Her light blue eyes meet Nikki's emerald irises as she seemed to recognize her. She slowly walked up to the young hedgehog her eyes appeared to be holding back tears that threatened to fall. Nikki on the other hand, gave her a smile and embraced her as well.

The blue eyes hedgehog then looked at the robot that was lifeless on the ground, she then looked back at Nikki. "Sweetheart, are you alright? You're not hurt are you?"

Nikki nearly chuckled, _Oh great, another Cream._

"Yes, I'm fine." She replied.

"It's alright Bernie." Knuckles interrupted. "Trust me, when it comes to Nikki, there's not much to worry about."

She then turned to Jules, who gave her a reassuring nod.

* * *

Later on, after Su got home from school, the girls decided to explore the area. Su was taking Nikki to one of her secret places where they could hang out and on the way, Nikki told her about her grandparents reunion.

"Wow, that's really cool. I'm glad you guys found each other again." Su said cheerfully.

Nikki gave her a slightly confused look. "Did you already know about them? My grandparents I mean."

"Well, no. Professor Charles always keeps to himself. I've only met him a few times. So, as far as meeting Jules and Bernie…I never met them."

"Well, I'm gonna have to introduce you one of these days." Nikki smiled.

"So, now that you found your family, what are you gonna do? Are you gonna stay here?"

Nikki stopped in her tracks. She scratched the back of her head. "I…never thought about that."

Su stopped and looked back at her friend.

Nikki continued to think out loud, "A part me wants to stay, but…I can't leave the Freedom Fighters either. What about Tails, and Cream? We might not be related but…"

Su broke her train thought. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. I'm sure we'll think of something."

"Yeah, you're right. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Nikki said with a smirk.

As they continued forward, Nikki was looking around her. The forest was beautiful, full of different colored flowers and branches covered in vines. It was surprising for a place that was almost shrouded in darkness underground, the crystals in the ceiling being the only light source.

"So, where are we heading?" Nikki asked as she looked curiously at trees above her.

"We're almost there, you'll see."

Nikki couldn't help but smirk when she heard Su's response. _Wow, Knuckles said the same thing on the way here._

The girls came up to a steep cliff side and Su started leaping effortlessly to the top. Nikki watched for a moment slightly shocked by the fact that, for someone that seemingly no training in martial arts at all what so ever, Su was able to do this so easily. _Okay, seriously. Why does Knuckles not want to train her? She already has the skills, what gives?_

Su looked down from the top. "You comin'?"

Nikki suddenly realized she had been lost in thought again and shook it off. She ran up the side of cliff to the top.

Su greeted her with a smirk. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Nah, it's nothing." Nikki said with a smile.

The girls looked ahead of them and saw the lush greenery that covered the rest of the cliff wall. Su walked on ahead, pulled the vines to the side, and walked on through, Nikki following close behind. Su walked over to the end of the tunnel and pulled another curtain of vines to the side, blinding the small cavern with light. "Here we are."

Both girls walked out into the open and Nikki was awestruck. It was a smaller cavern, similar to New Albion. But it wasn't so much the cavern itself that was amazing. The place was a sanctuary, full of creatures that Nikki recognized.

"They're…Chao" Nikki then turned to Su. "It's a Chao Garden."

Su gave her friend a nod. "Yep, I stumbled into it when was exploring. I haven't told anyone else about it."

Nikki then gave her a look. "And you tell me?"

She shrugged and gave her smile. "I trust you."

They both walked further into the Chao Garden. At first the Chao looked curiously at the two girls, but then suddenly, a group of them came charging toward Nikki. "Whao! Wait a minute!"

The group of Chao tackle her and she was pushed to the ground. She couldn't help but laugh. "Su! What are- haha- what are they doing?"

Su giggled. "I don't know, I guess they really like you."

Then she felt a tickle behind her head, one of the Chao was looking for something in her spikes. "Whao! Careful." Nikki took the Chao off of her head. "Don't wanna hurt yourself, do ya?"

Suddenly, something caught her eye. She looked ahead of her toward the far end of the cliff side wall. There was a small hole, it almost looked like den just eye level with her. She thought that she saw something moving in there. "Hey Su, does anything live in that den over there?"

Su looked at the cave wall in question. "Oh, that's another Chao. He's not as social as the others. I've only seen him come out a few times, I think he's shy."

Without hesitation Nikki walked over to the den, being careful not to scare the little Chao hiding inside. She peeked in and gave it warm smile. "Hey little guy."

The Chao freaked out and backed in further into the den. Nikki tried to calm it down, "No, no. It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you."

An idea came to her and she took out the green Chaos Drive from her quills. "Here, this is for you."

The green glow revealed the Chao a little in an emerald light. It did seem to look different than the other Chao in the garden, it had a spiked tail. The timid Chao came a little closer to Nikki, who was holding the Chaos Drive to hand to the Chao. "That's it, don't be afraid."

Su watched and seemed impressed by Nikki's selfless act of kindness.

Nikki kept luring the Chao out into the open. The Chao peeked it's head out, then touched the Chaos Drive. Nikki felt it charge up and noticed that she was causing it to force out too much energy. She immediately let the Chaos Drive go, allowing the Chao to have it. But since she had been holding it, the Chaos Drive was charged up more than normal and the Chao drained the Chaos Drive completely.

Nikki was really hoping that she didn't overload the poor thing. She leaned in close and peeked back in the den as the green light dimmed. "You alright little guy?"

All of a sudden, the Chao dashed out of the den at an incredible speed, almost knocking Nikki over and a black blur ran around the Chao Garden.

"What the-?" Su shouted as the fast moving Chao almost ran into her as well.

Su then turned and looked at Nikki, "What happened?"

Nikki shrugged confusingly, "It was the Chaos Drive. I didn't know this would happen though."

The Chao then attempted to dash by Su again. The young echidna grabbed it, but the Chao didn't stop and started dragging Su with it. "Whao!"

Nikki then dashed forward, putting herself in front of the Chao's path. She then grabbed it and then dug her feet in the ground to stop the Chao's momentum. She then picked up the Chao and Su stopped at Nikki's feet. Nikki stood up with the Chao in her hands, the Chao's feet were still moving and it was grinning so much it's sharp teeth were showing.

Nikki gave the young Chao an unimpressed look and chuckled. "Um bud, you getting no where."

The Chao then looked down and saw that it wasn't touching the ground. It stopped running and relaxed in Nikki's hands.

Nikki gave it a smile, "There you go."

The Chao giggled.

Su blew her bangs out of her face and stood up. She brushed herself off and looked at the Chao. "A spit fire that one, isn't it?"

"Ah, it was just having fun." Nikki smirked.

Nikki then looked at the Chao and looked at the many others in the garden at a glance, now that it was in the open and Nikki got a better look at it. The other Chao in the garden, were lighter in color, most of them light blue and yellow tipped. This Chao however, was almost a dark grey and was green tipped. It's wings were red and looked bat like and the long tail was wagging with the spike on the tip. The dark blue ball on it's head was covered in spikes.

"Hey Su?"

The young echidna just finished brushing herself off. "Hmm?"

"What kind of Chao is this?"

Su took a closer look. "It's a Dark Chao. Doesn't mean that it's evil or anything, just a little bit of a prankster." She gave it a little glare and the Chao gave her a snickering giggle in return.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake and the rest of the Chao ran and hid in fear. The Dark Chao clung to Nikki for dear life as the earth quake violently shook the garden.

Tried to regain her balance. "Whao!"

"Quick, back to the tunnel!" Su shouted.

There wasn't much the girls could do other than that. The cavern itself was strong, but if the ceiling caved in they could be crushed. They braced themselves against the walls of the tunnel and watched as rocks feel from either side.

"No!" Nikki shouted when she realized that they were going to be trapped.

As the last boulder fell, it shrouded the tunnel in darkness…leaving the two young girls alone with no escape.

* * *

Author's Note: Oh no, poor girls. :( How are they going to get out of this one? Find out in Chapter 14!

For Update information, check profile :)


	14. Chapter 14: Tested

Author's Note: Kay! Here's Chapter 14, right on schedule...for once. :)

Thank you to those who reviewed.

Tamika38: I couldn't answer your question, because the e-mail didn't show up in the review lol. It's all good though. :) The answer is a little too complicated to explain here though. I'll try and find a way to get that information to you somehow.

Now here is Chapter 14! Enjoy! :)

* * *

_**Chapter 14: Tested**_

* * *

**_Narrator: Sonica (Nikki)_**

Everything was pitch black, I couldn't tell if my eyes were open or not. A loud piercing sound rang in my ears. It sounded like someone took an amplifier and placed a microphone in front of it causing a high pitch sound loud enough to make your ears bleed. Everything seemed out of balance…I felt dizzy.

I felt something shake my shoulder, followed by a soft voice that sounded far away. "Nikki…Nikki!…Wake up!"

"Chao!"

I tried to answer back, "mmnn?…what?…"

"You okay?"

"Heh…that seems to be everyone's favorite question." I couldn't help but laugh a little at that. The truth was, I still had no idea what was going on around me. I tried to keep my eyes open and looked around. It was still so dark. Suddenly, I remembered exactly what happened and sat up with a start.

Which I shouldn't have done, because as soon as I sat up I felt dizzy again and my head felt like it was in a vice. "Gah!"

"Careful! I think one of the boulders hit you in the cave in."

"Chao." I almost forgot that little Chao was in there with us, it sounded so scared.

"I'm alright." I grunted from behind my clenched teeth. That line was already automatic for me. Even though I wasn't okay, I would always say that. I could feel something warm on my forehead, I was sure that I had split my head open.

I made an attempt to stand up, but didn't get very far and Su caught me. "No you're not, you're hurt. Just stay there for minute, I'll get us out of here."

My senses started returning to me, I was even starting to see a little in the tunnel. As I started to regain focus, I began to notice something else was wrong…I was finding it harder to breathe.

"…Su?…" I strained as I began to cough, "…is it just me…or is it…hard to breathe in here?"

I didn't know if it was me or not. I really didn't like being trapped and I was kind of out of it. Truth was, I wanted it to be my fear…because I knew if I was aware of that, I could focus again and handle it. But there was a lot of dust and debris flying around and I could feel it filling my lungs with every breath.

So, I pretty much already knew the answer when Su replied. She was straining too as well. "…I know…there's too much…dust in here…*cough*…I just need to…know which way to go…I can't see anything…"

It wasn't looking too good for either of us, even if I could spin and dig our way out, it would do no good if we couldn't find the right direction. We could dig further into the mountain and never find our way out.

Suddenly, a blue light shined in the tunnel. "What?"

We both looked in the direction of where it was coming from, it turned out to be…the Chao! The spiked ball on it's head glowed and gave us light to see inside the tunnel.

"I didn't know…they could do that."

"Me either." Su replied. She looked over at the other end of the tunnel. "There."

On her gloves, two spikes extended out of her knuckles, the same way how my own spikes extend from my arms and shoulders. She looked at me one more time and gave me a smirk. "Just hang tight."

Su ran forward and jumped off of the wall to give her more momentum. She then drove her fist into the ground and began to dig. I was really surprised by how fast Su was able to plow her way through the solid rock and create another tunnel downward. She was no longer visible now, all that told me that she was still going was the sound of her spikes digging into the rocks below.

I tried to stand up again to follow, but just like before I became dizzy and felt pain rush back into my head. I groaned with frustration and leaned my head against the cave wall. "Crap." I muttered under my breath.

Suddenly, I heard some quick footsteps coming from the tunnel hole that Su had just dug out. She grabbed the ledge and pulled herself up. "Okay…*cough*…found a way out."

She pulled herself out of the hole and ran toward me. "How you holding up?"

I could tell that Su was exhausted and probably didn't have the strength she needed to help carry me out. And besides, I was too prideful to simply ask for help when I needed it. I forced myself up and braced myself against the wall for support. "I can manage."

My friend smirked at me, I could tell that she saw right through me. She grabbed my arm and the Chao then led us to edge of the hole. We both leapt in and landed without too much trouble. We then ran forward and turned the corner. There…at the end of the tunnel…was light. I let out a huge sigh of relief as we ran on ahead and finally made it back out into the open. We both collapsed, taking in the oxygen we desperately needed. The wind blew by us gently and I felt myself relax and my breathing began to become steady again.

"We…made it…" I grinned in between breaths.

"Yep.." Su then got up and walked up to me. She took off her backpack and opened it. "Let's take look at your head."

She barely touched it and I couldn't help but cringe a little.

"Aw man, you did a number on yourself here."

Funny, I was thinking the same thing.

"One sec, I think I have something." She reached into her pack and pulled out a bandana. "This'll work, at least until we get back home and Dad can patch you up."

She began to wrap the cloth around my head, which was kind of challenge with my quills getting in the way, but she managed to get past them. "Almost done." She pulled it tight one last time. "There."

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet. I still have to get you back home." She said with a slightly confused look.

I chuckled a little.

Suddenly, our attention was drawn away by something in the distance. A massive cloud of smoke rose up near the city below. We both looked at each other, I could see in my friend's eyes that she thought the same thing I was thinking…They're here…

* * *

**_Narrator: None, third person format._**

Meanwhile, in the city, safety precautions were already underway. Jules had already went on ahead to find out the cause of the blast. Charles, Julie and Bernie were preparing for possible evacuation of the city if need be.

Knuckles suddenly ran up to the group and yelled for them to hear. "Hey Charles!"

"Knuckles! What is it?"

"Have you seen Nikki or Su? I've looked everywhere!"

"What? The girls are missing?" Bernie said worryingly.

At that moment, a blast almost hit the building next to them and they cringed as the heat from the explosion reached them.

Knuckles shouted over the roaring flames. "I'm gonna try and find them!"

"No Knuckles! They need you over at the gateway if they can't hold them back!" Charles hated to say that, but it was the truth. Aside from Jules, Knuckles was the only other Mobian here that knew how to fight these Exus robots without getting himself killed in one shot.

"Mace and I will go!" Julie answered. "Don't worry Knuckles, we'll find them!" At that, Mace and Julie took off to search for the two girls.

"Be careful! We don't know where they're coming in from yet!" Knuckles called back to his wife and brother.

Mace gave his brother a nod and they both continued on their way into the forest.

* * *

Little did they know, that the girls were heading for the battle instead of the city. They stopped and saw that part of the forest area was on fire.

Su was about to try and find another way around when Nikki stopped her.

"Don't worry, I got this." The young hedgehog dashed forward and then spun around the flames at swift speed.

Forming a cyclone like wind, the flames had no more oxygen to feed from causing them to die out. Nikki landed a few yards away and gave her friend a thumbs up. The young echidna gave her a nod and they continued forward to see if there were any more forest fires to put out. Nikki tried to listen around her to see if robots were around, but it was hard to hear with the crackling forest fire in the distance.

The small Chao in Su's pack suddenly yelled, "Chao!"

"What's wrong?" Su asked with concern.

Luckily, Nikki caught sight of what the Chao was worried about. There was a robot hiding behind the endless pillars of trees and it was about to fire at them.

"Su, get down!" Nikki dashed forward and pushed her friend to the ground, her falling right behind being forced down by her own momentum. The laser just barely missed them, Nikki felt the heat of the laser lightly touch her ear.

That was too close.

Nikki attempted to get up right away, but because of her head injury it wasn't as easy as she would've liked…she was too slow. The Exus robot was right over them in a second. In that split second, Nikki moved Su out of the way and then rolled in the other direction in an attempt to draw attention away from her friend. She then extended her spikes, knowing that the robot would try and stab her with its razor sharp claws. The young hedgehog held it back for a moment, it was obvious though that it was struggle for her at the moment.

Su was surprised by Nikki's actions. This girl was one year younger than her and yet here she was, facing off against an Exus Beast even though she was injured.

Knowing that the robot would try and shoot at her with it's lasers, Nikki took her other arm and slashed right across the red lights that shined through the head shield of the robot. She succeeded in blinding the robot, but she also pissed it off.

The robot struck at her again with its metal claws and in an effort to avoid serious injury, Nikki used her arm spike still embedded in the robot's claws and forced it to the side. Unfortunately, one of the claws dug into her shoulder, preventing her escape. Nikki gritted her teeth and tried to pry herself loose, but the claw was wedged between her collar bone and was rubbing against her shoulder blade, causing extreme pain. The robot raised it's other arm positioning it to strike, putting more pressure on Nikki's shoulder. A sickening crack was heard and Nikki realized that the robot's claw had pierced through her shoulder blade. She let out a painful yell and threw her head back. But then quickly looked defiantly at her attacker, her emerald eyes nearly glowed with determination even in the face of what she knew would be death.

Suddenly, a loud angry yell pierced the air. "Let her go! You bastard!"

Nikki drew her attention to the battle cry and saw Su rush in and punch the robot in the face. She then glided a little to guide herself back to the robot and then drove her spiked knuckles into it's back. She held on with all her might as the robot began to thrash about, lifting it's claw out of Nikki's shoulder.

The young hedgehog looked in amazement as her friend, who supposedly had no fighting experience, was doing a pretty damn good job at it.

"Um, Nikki!" The young echidna yelled over the roaring of the distressed robot. "What do I do now?"

Nikki yelled for her to hear. "Most of the armor is on the back of the neck, hit there! You need to get to the computer chip!"

Su then drove her spikes on her knuckles into the robot's neck and held on at the same time. She managed to punch her way through and then pulled the chip out completely. The robot instantly stopped thrashing and crashed to the ground. Realizing how close of a call that was, Su let out a huge sigh. She then turned to her friend and jumped off of the downed robot.

The young hedgehog was trying to get back up, which was now difficult because her shoulder blade was broken.

Su rushed to her side and kept her from falling backward. "Nikki."

The latter of the two looked at her friend and smirked. "Nice work."

One of Nikki's ears turned back toward the forest. Both girls looked in that direction. They could hear the ensuing battle in the distance.

The young hedgehog looked back to her friend, determination still blazing in her emerald eyes. "Su, in that robot is a Chaos Drive. We need to get it."

Su nodded and then dashed back to the mangled robot. She reached in and pulled out a yellow Chaos Drive. The echidna looked confusingly at it for a moment, but then quickly ran back to Nikki. "Kay, I got it. But I don't understand why we need it."

"You trust me?" Nikki gave her a reassuring look.

A look of determination came over Su and she handed Nikki the Chaos Drive. But before she could let it go, golden energy surged around them. Su looked around her amazed. Nikki took in the precious energy, letting it flood her system. The energy moved to her shoulder and began to heal it. If Su wasn't surprised before, she definitely was now. Realizing that Nikki was healed, Su let go of the Chaos Drive and then the energy returned to it.

Nikki swiftly stood up and stretched her shoulder. "Thanks."

Su smiled, "No problem." Suddenly, a confused look came over her. "Wait, what did I do?"

Nikki almost laughed.

"What was that anyway?" Su asked in slightly confused tone.

"I'll explain later…" Nikki placed the Chaos Drive in her quills. She then turned to her friend. "…right now we need to get you back home."

"Whao, wait a minute."

Nikki stopped in her tracks.

"Nikki, if my dad is fighting those things out there…I-I'm not just going to stand on the sidelines."

The blue hedgehog was surprised by Su's response. The young echidna walked up and stood right next to her, her violet eyes glowing with that same determination as her comrade. "I'm going with you and you can't talk me out of it."

_Of course I can't, how can I keep her from saving her own father? I would do the same thing in a heartbeat if I was able to…_

The young hedgehog gave her friend a thumbs up. "Alright, lets give 'em a hand."

Su nodded and they both took off toward the sound of the battle in the trees.

Now that Nikki was healed, getting through the forest was gonna be a breeze…or so they thought.

* * *

The girls made their way toward the battle. It didn't take long for them to run into a few straggling robots that were running ahead of the armada. Nikki stopped and instantly stood in front of Su. Both the robot and the young hedgehog stared each other down. Quick as a flash, Nikki grabbed Su's arm and then speed to the left, barely missing a laser. She then ran onto one of the trees and threw Su into the air. Su used the momentum she gained from Nikki to plow right into the robot with incredible force.

Nikki looked ahead of her and saw another robot aiming at her, she jumped off and the laser hit the tree instead.

"Whoa! Easy there fella." Nikki laughed. Suddenly, she spun and drove her foot into the robot's face. "You need to wait your turn."

The robot was thrown back and crashed into a group of trees. The hedgehog smiled and then turned to her friend. "You got it, Su?"

The young echidna had just shut down the robot and leaped off of it gracefully before it crashed to the ground. "Yep."

The girls looked around to see if anymore were one their way.

"How many was that? I lost count." Su asked as she looked over her shoulder.

Nikki counted in head for a moment, "32."

Su shot her a shocked look. "Seriously?"

"Yep."

"Aw man. If that was just the first wave, I would hate to think how many more are actually breaking in here right now."

Nikki noticed that Su was beginning to worry about her father. "Then don't think about it."

Seeing Su's confused look, Nikki continued. "Listen, I've fought along side your dad. He's tough, he's got this."

Su looked back to the trees that still blocked their view of the gate. "I hope you're right." They both continued forward, hoping that they were almost there.

* * *

Meanwhile, near the gate, explosions rang out left and right. It was war zone.

Jules had just finished off two robots and looked behind him, "Knuckles! How are you holding up?"

Knuckles just punched through one robot and then jumped out of the way of the falling mangled metal. "Hangin' in there!"

In truth, it was getting crazy. The robots just didn't seem to stop coming and Jules and Knuckles alone must've taken out at least a hundred of them already. They both looked a little battered and bruised, but nothing too major. They both were getting exhausted however and the waves of robots just kept coming too fast for them to recover.

Knuckles gritted his teeth in frustration in realizing that they can't possibly hold them back for long. He yelled back at Jules. "Has anyone gotten a hold of Espio yet?"

"Hold on, let me check!" He yelled back as he held back another robot and threw it to the side. Jules listens into the communications between Vector's and Espio's radios. It took a few seconds, but they had their answer. "He's on his way, he just passed Former Station Square!"

Not the answer Knuckles was looking for. "He'll never get here in time!"

Another explosion almost hits the two and Knuckles shielded his eyes from the flash of the blast. This isn't good, we need back up now or it's all over…Damn it!

Suddenly Jules' attention was drawn toward the trees as his scanner picked up something. It was only for a brief second, but that was all the Exus robot needed to catch Jules by surprise and drive him into the ground.

"Jules!"

* * *

Nikki heard her grandfather's name and her eyebrows creased forward. She drew on the energy of the Chaos Drive in her quills and she began to be enveloped in a golden light. She was holding onto Su, who looked in amazement as golden streaks sprayed off in different directions. Nikki's quills began to change a little, growing a little longer than normal and looked like they were drawn together into a point toward the center quill, making her more aerodynamic.

She leapt up and let Su land on a tree nearby, the young hedgehog then sped forward and drove herself in the robot that was holding her grandfather down. She landed on the trunk of a tree on the other side of the clearing near Knuckles, who was surprised to see the young hedgehog.

Nikki pushed herself off the tree at blinding speed and then ran into the robot. She then met the same spot she hit with a kick and sent the robot flying into the cavern wall. The young hedgehog landed and stood defiantly in front of her grandfather.

The mechanical hedgehog pushed himself up and readjusted one of his arms, which had apparently been broken from that attack. "Thank you."

Nikki glanced back at him and smiled.

Knuckles took down another robot and looked at young hedgehog. "Nikki, where's my daughter?"

She motioned her hand toward where she last left the young echidna. "In the tree."

Su peeked through the braches and waved, "Hi Dad!"

"What the-? Su, what are you doing here? This isn't a field trip!"

"I came to help."

"No, absolutely not."

"But Dad I-"

Suddenly, another robot came in toward the tree.

"Su!" Knuckles called out and was about to rush to her.

Before Knuckles could move forward, Su leapt effortlessly and then drove her spiked knuckles into the robot's forehead. The robot toppled over itself and then shut down.

Knuckles' mouth dropped and was shocked by his daughter's reflexes.

Jules and Nikki were fighting back to back. Nikki looked back at Knuckles and saw his reaction. "Yeah. I know, right?"

"No, this isn't…" Knuckles was trying to hide it, but he was concerned for his daughter's safety. "I don't want you to fight!"

"Well, it looks like what you want and what she feels don't agree, Knux."

Knuckles didn't know what was more irritating, that Nikki said that to him, or that she said that in the tone and the same way her father would. "Stay out of it!"

"Knuckles, I'm serious…" Nikki then gave him a confident look. "She took out at least ten robots by herself on our way here."

The red echidna became surprised by Nikki's words. Did his daughter really do that?

"Trust me, she's got this covered." Nikki gave him a quick thumbs up before dashing into another robot.

Knuckles shook his head. _Gah, Julie's probably gonna kill me for this._

Jules scanned ahead of the group of robots. "Another wave is heading this way!" He shouted for everyone to hear.

This just keeps getting better and better. Knuckles thought with sarcasm.

The next wave of robots came rushing in like a tidal wave. It was as if the gates of hell had been broken open and a horde of hell hounds and demons were heading right for them. Everyone stood their ground, waiting for the horde of robots to come into range.

Nikki extended her spikes on her arms. Just like the time she used the red Chaos Drive, they were different than before. This time though, her arm spikes were like her quills, long and came to a sharp point. The spikes also were facing the opposite direction, so that point at the ends were pointing down toward her hands instead of up. They almost looked like curved samurai swords.

Nikki looked at her arms and laughed, "Awesome!"

One of the robots that were in the front came rushing in and leaped into the air. Nikki rushed in to meet it, she brought her arms forward and at the last second cross slashed the robot. She landed on the other side and the robot exploded in the air. Nikki wasn't expecting this and it blew her back toward the robots' front line.

Jules rushed in to protect his granddaughter and grabbed one of the robots, he then used the robot almost like a ball and chain and threw it into a group of the closest robots.

Nikki looked back at Su, who gave her a nod. They both dashed forward and two robots came to meet them. Nikki attacked it first with her arm spike, and then Su came in with her spiked knuckles and landed a punch under the chin, sending the robot flying. In mid-air, Nikki spun and redirected herself toward another group that was heading their way. She sliced through at least three of them before being forced back by another robot that came from the trees. She leapt back before the robot was able to hit her and she readied herself for another go.

Knuckles spotted where another group of robots were coming from past the trees and ran forward, he then leapt into the tree and pushed off with incredible force. He then pulled his arm back and then punched right through the first robot and then hit the second hard in the head shield. He then jumped back and readjusted his aim to start again, but one of the robots came in from the side of him and his attention was drawn away to stop it. At that moment, another robot took advantage of Knuckles' blind spot and slammed him into a tree.

Su saw her father as she was holding onto a robot's tail. "Dad!"

"Damn it!" Nikki shouted as she was surrounded on all sides and unable to get by to come to Knuckles' aid.

Jules was pinned down by another robot and he was trying to get free.

Just as the robot that was holding the knocked out Knuckles brought it's arm back to strike.

"Hey!"

The robot looked to it's left at the direction the voice came from.

"Hands off!"

The new ally punched the robot hard in the face and it was sent flying into a boulder a few yards away.

Su looked back and saw who it was that saved her father, "Mom!"

Nikki gave a confusing look in that direction. "Julie?"

Suddenly another echidna came rushing in out of the forest and then leapt into the air, it was Mace. Spikes suddenly came out from legs, just below his knees and curved upward. Mace landed just in front of the robot that had Jules pinned down. He kicked it with the spike right through the robot's head and then retracted the spike.

The robot crashed and he helped Jules push the robot out of the way. "Are you alright?"

Jules gave him a look, "You know. For a pacifist, you sure can be violent when you want to be."

"That didn't answer my question." Mace gave him a look similar what his brother would give if he was unimpressed.

Nikki spun and cut a few robot's that surrounded her down, but she still had more coming in behind her. She started noticing that she was getting winded, which meant that her Chaos Drive was running out of energy.

_Oh no. come on, just a bit little longer._

Suddenly, one of the robots grabbed her and threw the young hedgehog down the side of the cavern's cliff side that lead to the river.

"Nikki!" Su shouted as she saw her friend fall off the edge.

Nikki saw that she was about to hit the rocks below and started to spin to avoid them, sending her into the river instead. A few robots started to follow her down in pursuit.

Jules ran in to stop them and looked back at Knuckles. "Save her! I'll hold them back!"

Knuckles ran for the cliff side and jumped. He then dug his knuckles into the rocky cliff face to slow down his momentum so that he wouldn't crash into the rocks below. He looked around for her where he was, but he couldn't see her.

Suddenly, one of the robots got by Jules. "Shit! Heads up!"

Knuckles looked up and saw the robot hurtling toward him. He pulled his arm back and then hit the robot dead on. The robot then crashed into the rocky ground.

That's when Knuckles looked down and saw a whirlpool forming in the river below. He scanned it and then noticed that there was a huge amount of Chaos energy surging around it.

He yelled back for the others to hear above him. "Everyone, get to the trees, hurry!"

Jules heard him and glanced back, he then saw what the echidna was talking about and he relayed the message. "Quick, get to higher ground!"

Julie picked up her daughter and her and Mace leapt into a tree nearby.

Suddenly, a pillar of water jutted out of the river. A light golden glow surrounded the water as it rose higher in higher to the point of towering over the cliff. Gravity drove the water downward toward the robots in a massive wave. The flood swept over the robots, but didn't seem to flow in a normal way. It was like it was being controlled by something. The water then moved on to the forest fires and washed them away as easily as the ocean tide. As the glow faded, the water receded, revealing all the robots that were left completely shut down.

Julie, Mace and Su jumped down from the trees and ran to the cliff side. Jules climbed up first.

"Jules, where's Knuckles?" Julie asked slightly worried.

Knuckles then climbed up, completely soaking wet. He spat some water out of his mouth.

Jules scanned behind him down toward the river.

"See Nikki down there?" Knuckles asked as he tried to get the water out of one of his ears.

"No, she must've been inside that vortex." Jules answered in half hearted tone.

Knuckles looked toward the forest, "She could be anywhere."

Jules stood up and took off toward the forest. He looked back at the others. "We have to find her. Split up, check everywhere you can."

Julie looked to her husband as he got up and started heading toward the forest as well. "You and Jules are the only ones with scanners. Look around the forest, we'll check the riverbanks."

With that, Julie, Mace and Su took off and then Knuckles took off in the opposite direction.

Knuckles scanned around him as he ran forward, searching for any signs of life. He could hear the others calling out to Nikki in the distance. The red echidna then changed tactic and tried sensing the Chaos Energy around him. Suddenly, he sensed what he was looking for. He took off to his left toward where the forest fires had spread, trees were charred around him, but not as bad as it could've been if they hadn't stopped the robots in time. Steam still came off of some of the trees and the ground.

_Come on kid, where are you?_

The energy drew Knuckles further into the forest. He saw a small shape in the distance ahead of him. The echidna recognized the spikes right away, it was Nikki. He rushed to her side, she was passed out lying on the ground, completely soaking wet.

He touched her shoulder and shook her gently. "Nikki…Nikki, wake up kid."

The young hedgehog coughed and then looked at Knuckles, she was completely exhausted. "…Knux…"

Knuckles let out a huge sigh. He then yelled for the others to hear. "I found her!"

He then turned back to Nikki. "Are you okay? What happened back there?"

"…I'm fine…not sure what happened though…I was fighting those robots and the next thing I knew, I was falling off the cliff…"

"So, you don't remember the huge tidal wave that attacked the robots I take it?"

"The what?"

"I'm gonna take that as a 'no'."

Nikki tried to get up, but she was completely drained and fell back down.

"Nikki!"

The young hedgehog blew her bangs out of her face. _Well, this is embarrassing._ "I'm fine…just tired…"

Knuckles nearly chuckled and then reached down to pick her up. He lifted her up and swung her onto his back. Nikki was a little surprised by this, but then smiled at him as they made their way back to find the others.

"Hey Knux?"

"What do you want?"

"Huh?"

"You don't usually say 'hey Knux' unless you want to ask me something."

"Why don't you…wanna train your daughter?"

Knuckles almost stopped dead in his tracks, but shook it off and kept moving forward._ Damn, why does she ask me all the hard questions?_

He then replied, "It's complicated."

"What's so complicated about it?…She already has the skills for it."

"Doesn't matter."

"Spending time with your daughter **does **matter, Knuckles."

Knuckles a little surprised by Nikki's words. He then realized what kind of point Nikki was trying to get across.

"Believe me, I want to spend time with my daughter…"

Nikki listened intently as Knuckles continued. "…I just don't want to force her into anything she doesn't want to do."

"Have you ever asked her what she wanted to do?"

"Well I-" He thought about it and realized that he hadn't asked her. The echidna then tried to justify his reasons for his decision, not specifically to convince Nikki, but himself. "She's too young to know what she wants."

"She's one year older than me…Am I too young?"

"Nikki, twice now I've found you passed out from exhaustion and once on the way here you almost died! Don't you get it? You can't tell me that's what you wanted."

"I made those choices myself, no one told me to protect those I care about, Knux."

Those words actually hit Knuckles pretty hard. He remembered Sonic saying something similar to that once.

With that last statement, Nikki won over Knuckles' stubborn nature and the echidna gave a huge drawn out sigh. "You really wanna know the truth?"

Nikki gave light nod.

"When I was young…around your age…my father was the one that trained me. He taught me almost everything I know about fighting, but he was hard on me. No matter what I did it wasn't good enough…he would push me to my limit and then still forced me to keep going. My mother finally found out and left him."

He looked back for a brief moment, there was sympathy in the young hedgehog's eyes. "So…you're afraid that you'll do that to Su?"

The young hedgehog then laughed a little, "Knux, you're an amazing teacher. Heh, I outta know."

"I threw you in a lake."

"In shallow water, but that's not the point. The point is that you shouldn't worry about that…because you're you, not your father. But you are Su's dad and she needs you. I'm not saying that you should train her, I'm just saying you should find out what she wants to do and encourage her."

The young hedgehog then smiled. "I would say a little self-defense training wouldn't hurt, but I think Su's already got that covered."

Nikki never ceased to amaze Knuckles. She was this eight year old girl, but for some reason…when she actually meant it…she had the wisdom of an adult…sort of.

Suddenly, Knuckles picked up something on his scanner. "Looks like the others are just ahead."

"Cool, um, could you put me down now? I think I can make it on my own."

Knuckles let Nikki down, a voice rang out from the forest trees ahead of them.

"Nikki!"

"Grandpa!" She then dashed forward without any trouble.

Geez, she recovers fast. Knuckles thought to himself.

The two hedgehogs embraced one another.

"Thank Mobius you're safe." Jules said with relief.

* * *

After the damage to the cavern entrance was repaired, Knuckles got a hold of Tails on the communicator.

"Knuckles! Are you guys alright?"

"Relax, were all fine. Did you take care of that Exus robot tracking thing?"

"Sure did, no need to worry. I hacked into one of Eggman's old satellites and rerouted the frequency so that the Exus robots that attacked the city registered from the Radioactive Zone. They'll think the robots got too close to the toxic chemicals and destroyed themselves."

"Good work." Knuckles congratulated. "I'll be sure to let the others know."

"Cool, see you guys when you get back then. Take care."

"You too."

Tails turned off his communicator and Knuckles closed his communicator and set it on the table. _That is, if Nikki doesn't decide to stay here._

Knuckles almost walked into the living room, but realized that Nikki and her grandparents were talking. He hid behind the wall next to the doorway.

"You're more than welcome to stay with us." Bernie said to the young hedgehog kindly.

Nikki closed her eyes for a moment, really thinking about her choices. She almost looked like she was dreading this conversation.

Finally, she spoke. "I love you guys…and I would love to stay with you…but…I also don't want to leave the Freedom Fighters either."

She looked at her grandparents, determination shining in her emerald eyes. "I can't choose between the two of you, and I won't."

"And we don't expect you to." Jules answered.

"You mean you're not mad?"

"Of course not, Sweetheart. We understand. If you want to stay with the Freedom Fighters, we won't stop you."

"But that doesn't mean we won't worry about you." Bernie said quickly.

Nikki laughed, "I know." She then ran over and hugged them both. "And I promise, I'll come and visit as often as I can."

"And we'll be here", her grandfather said with a smile.

"Just try to be careful, okay?" Her grandmother said worryingly.

"I'll try."

* * *

The next day, after saying their goodbyes, Nikki and Knuckles headed back to the base. About halfway there, Nikki reached into her backpack to get a bottle of water, but a shocked look came over her when she realized what she grabbed wasn't her water bottle.

"Um, Knuckles?"

"What is it?-!" When Knuckles turned around he saw Nikki holding up a Dark Chao. "What? I thought you and Su took that Chao back!"

"We did, he must've snuck back into my backpack on the way out." Nikki gave it a confusing look.

Knuckles shrugged, "Well, nothing we can do about it now."

They then continued walking.

The Chao climbed onto Nikki's head. "So, what should we call him?"

"Don't care."

"Hmm?…" She thought of something and then looked up at the Chao. "How about 'Night', does that sound good to you little guy?"

"Chao!" The small Chao responded happily.

Knuckles groaned. _Why do I have the feeling this is gonna be a long trip back?_

* * *

Author's Note: Okay, so it looks like everything is working out for Nikki so far. But what surprises will come in the next chapter? More secrets will be revealed, in Chapter 15!

To view current updates, check profile. :)


	15. Chapter 15: Anniversary

Here we are! Chapter 15! This was one of the chapters I have been waiting for. There are more still to come that I'm excited about of course.

I will warn you though, to some of you this may be a tear jerker. I almost found myself on the verge a few times and I'm writing the darn thing lol.

Anyway, Enjoy! :)

* * *

_**Chapter 15: Anniversary**_

* * *

_**Narrator: Tails**_

After the Exus invasion in New Albion, I took it upon myself to run through all the security codes again. Since I can't do anything too physically demanding for at least another month, I've been keeping myself busy by sitting at my master computer desk working on the computers. My eyes drifted back and forth to each of the three screens as I filtered through every file.

Changing the security codes always made Seth nervous. He was a security program, but he was designed with his own personality. I would hear him sigh periodically. In response to this, I would just shake my head or laugh a little.

"Relax Seth, I'm almost done. All I have to do is recalibrate the security codes."

"Um Sir…" Seth paused for a moment. Even though his voice was mechanical, I could still hear the uncertainty behind it. "…I hope you don't mind me asking, but…why are you doing this again? You already recalibrated the pass codes the last time that Exus robot broke in."

"Just for extra precaution Seth, nothing more." To tell the truth, I had no idea why I was doing this again.

"You're bored, aren't you?"

"What?"

"Well, Miss Cream said that you have to refrain from strenuous duties for two months."

"Yes and I'm doing just that. Sitting here and working on the computer doesn't affect me…" Seth had guessed it right off the bat. I was completely bored out of my mind. It had only been three weeks and I've been trying to do my best to keep myself busy to take my mind off of other things that needed to get done. "Ah ha, there we go. Done."

"Thank you Sir."

"You're welcome." I replied with a smile. "Okay…" Now that I was done with the security codes, I had to find something else to do. There was just one problem…I couldn't think of anything else. "…now what?"

"You've completed everything you could do without straining yourself."

"Yeah, that's true…" My eyes drifted toward the X Tornado 2. "Although, that landing gear really needs to be repaired."

"Sir no!" Seth yelled worryingly.

I laughed at Seth's response. "Seth I'm kidding, I'm kidding."

"You mustn't do that. I'm not programmed for sarcasm."

Another laugh escaped me, suddenly I noticed the light turn on by the hanger door.

"Oh, Knuckles and Sonica have arrived." Seth said cheerfully.

I smiled and nodded. "Good."

Just then, Knuckles and Nikki came through the door and ran down the stairs.

"Welcome back, guys." I greeted them with a smile.

"Hi Tails." Nikki looked excited. She must've had a lot of fun back in New Albion.

My attention then turned to Knuckles. "So, how was the trip-well besides the little invasion I mean."

"Actually, it wasn't too bad considering."

I heard a muffled sound coming from Nikki's backpack, I recognized it in an instant. "Is that-?"

Knuckles cut me off before I could finish, "Don't ask."

"O-kay."

Knuckles continued. "Oh, Charles wanted to speak to you. He said it was important."

"Excellent, I'll contact him right away."

Remembering something, I turned to Nikki. "Oh, Nikki. Cream has something she'd like to show you, she's in the kitchen."

"Cool." She started to take off toward the door, but stopped halfway and looked back at me. "See ya in a bit." She then continued and then closed the door behind her.

Knuckles stretched and yawned. "Well, I'm turning in. See ya tomorrow."

"Good night, Knux." After Knuckles closed the door, I started logging in to connect a com chat with Charles.

After looking at the data that Charles uploaded, I almost did a double take. "Whoa, this is…this is incredible."

"Yeah, I know."

"But how is she able to do this? It doesn't add up."

"I'm thinking the same thing. At such a young age, there's no way her body should be able to handle this kind of speed."

"Well, we have to remember…Sonic was able to run pretty fast at Nikki's age."

"Yes, but over 800 miles an hour Tails?"

"Yeah I know, that's a lot to take in." It was really a challenge to figure out just how Nikki was able to pull this off. Sonic was only able to run at the speed of sound when he was twelve, at least that's what he told me. Here, not only was his daughter able to do that, but she topped the scale. It could've been possible that she was running even faster than 800 miles an hour for that brief moment.

I looked at the speedometer that I had finished on my desk. I thought for a moment. "Process of evolution."

"What?"

I didn't realize I said that out loud. "Well it's just a theory, but it could be possible that Nikki is an example of desired evolution. Think about it, nature has a way of manipulating certain genes to become more dominate than others."

"You know, I think you have something there. I'll look into it on my end and see if I can come up with some calculations."

"Sounds like a plan."

Charles looked to his left and then sighed. He seemed to be slightly distraught for some reason. I couldn't help but ask him, "What's up? You okay?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah, I just caught sight of the calendar. You know what day it is tomorrow."

I felt my heart stop for a moment. That's right, tomorrow was the anniversary of…that day…the last day Sonic was seen alive. I felt my voice crack a little as I responded. "Yeah…I know."

* * *

_**Narrator: Sonica (Nikki)**_

Cream lead me up the stairs to the top floor. We past by the guest room, which I had been staying in when I first came here. She then lead me to a door just past the corner. We walked through the door, which lead to another long hallway. There was only one door, the one to our right just by where we entered.

Cream walked over to it and opened the door. "Here we are."

I walked in and reached for the light switch to the room. It was amazing. The room was spacious, it had a couch and a coffee table at one side of the room. There was a dresser right across from it. The one thing that I liked the most was, instead of a normal bed, there was a hammock that was set up in the far corner of the room.

"So, what do think of your room. If you want to change anything, it's no trouble."

"I love it. This is wonderful, thank you." It really was, this was the first time I've ever had my own room.

"I'm glad you like it. Well, I'm sure you're tired from traveling back here. I'll let you get some sleep." She started to walk out the door, but she seemed to forget something. "Oh, there's some new clothes over on the couch for you. I hope you like them."

"Awesome. Thanks." Thank Mobius, I was starting to outgrow the clothes I was already wearing from the orphanage.

"Well, Good night."

"Good night, Cream."

She closed the door and I took another look around the room. It already had that sense of home feel to it.

I laid the backpack down in the corner of the room by the door and Night yawned.

"Well, make yourself at home. Mi casa is-"

With that, Night dashed out and jumped onto the couch, then curled up and went to sleep. I couldn't help but laugh a little.

I walked over to the couch and looked at the clothes folded on the arm. There was a white blouse, similar to the one I was wearing, except this one looked like it would actually fit me. The one I was wearing was slightly too big for me, and was torn around the collar and fringed on all ends. I would've expected that due to all the fights I've been in. The pants that were included were red, my guess was to match my new shoes. Much better than the ones I had on, which were torn up to my knees. A pair of white gloves were on the bottom of the pile, which was a good thing because the ones I had were much too small.

As I start to pull off my right glove, something glinting in the lamp light caught my eye. I pulled the rest of the glove off.

_That's right, I almost forgot about this._

It was a small, chain-like bracelet. Well, part of one anyway. It was broken before and I retied it with twine cord. It wasn't like I had anything to fix it in the orphanage and I never did find the other piece of it.

My heart began to sink was I remembered where the bracelet came from. It was originally a part of my mother's necklace. I began to remember that day…no matter how hard I tried to push it further into the back of my mind. …Mobians screaming…the heat of the fires as houses burst into flame…me…hiding behind our couch…and then escaping out the back door…I know that I was too young to do anything back then, and I've accepted that. But that still didn't change that one fact…all of those Mobians died…because I couldn't save them…and my mother…was one of them.

My mother was the one that told me to escape, promising me that she would be right behind me…I never saw her again after that. After recovering in another village nearby I returned home, not believing anyone else telling me that it was burned to the ground…I should've never gone back…I can't get that image out of my mind…

All I found was that piece of that chain and about half of my house was left standing…I stayed there until someone found me and took me to the orphanage…

_There's no way I'll ever go back…I can't…_

I grabbed the new gloves and quickly put them on.

_Even though I'll never go back home…I'll never let go…_

I took out my father's picture out of my pocket and laid down in my hammock. As I looked up at the ceiling, something else came to my mind…

_My birthday is tomorrow…great…_

* * *

_**Narrator: Tails**_

"Tails?…Tails, wake up…Tails!"

"Hmm? What?…What's going on?"

"Did you really fall asleep at your computer?" That woke me up. My eyes opened and met Cream, who had her arms crossed and was tapping her foot. She didn't seem too impressed by the fact that I was working all night long.

I looked around and realized that had been the fact. "Huh, guess I did."

Cream sighed, "Well, at least you weren't wearing your spinal vest."

I laughed a little, "Yeah, that would've been uncomfortable." And that was the truth. If I had worn the spinal vest and forgot about then fell asleep, having it on for that length of time could've done more harm than good to my back. I would be out much longer than the two months we agreed upon.

"So, what were you doing anyway?" She asked curiously.

"I was looking at the data that Charles sent and calculating the possibility of what Nikki's top speed could be."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Did you find out?"

"No, I need more information. For example, I have to take into account Nikki's ability to use Chaos Drives. Which we haven't even collected data for yet, but I'm waiting on that. Definitely don't wanna start that today."

"Yeah, everyone deserves a break. Especially on their birthday."

…_Birthday? _"Wait, What? What are you talking about?"

"Nikki's birthday…that's today."

_**Shit!**_ A huge groan escaped me and I let my head rest in my hands.

"You forgot, didn't you?"

"Ah man, what kind of godfather am I if I can't even remember my godchild's birthday?"

Just at that moment, Knuckles busted in through the door.

"Tails!"

"Knuckles, if you're going to tell me that Nikki pulled another prank on you, I don't want to hear it." I was mentally exhausted, the last thing I needed was a thirty year old tattling on a kid.

"That's just it…Nikki's gone!"

Cream and I both stood up. "What?"

"When she didn't come down for training I went to check on her, I can't find her anywhere."

"Oh Chaos…" Cream just about looked like she was going to have a heart attack. I was worried too, why would she leave like this? Where could she have gone?

I tried to get my team's focus back under control. "Okay, don't panic. We'll find her."

"But Tails, where do we start? Even with her normal running speed she can be anywhere."

"Or dead." Knuckles added.

"Not helping!" Cream shot back.

"Guys, yelling at each other isn't going to solve anything." I reasoned. Then I brought the attention back to the situation at hand. "Okay, now think. Where would she go?"

"She could've gone back to New Albion?" Cream's suggestion, not a bad one either.

Knuckles disagreed. "No, that's too far. There's no way she'd go there herself." He then had an idea of his own. "How about the orphanage?"

I shook my head. "No, she said herself she'd never go back there."

"Maybe she went back home?"

"Come again?" Knuckles didn't quite understand what Cream meant by that.

"Fairbreeze Village."

Knuckles scoffed, "That place is wasteland now, why would she go there?"

"Wait a second." Seth interrupted. "What do you mean Nikki's missing? Didn't you send her on an errand?"

"Um…no." This was slightly confusing.

"Oh dear…um."

"Seth…did Nikki tell you where she was going?"

"Well…she asked me for a map."

"And you gave it to her?" That was Knuckles.

"I-I thought that it was for Tails."

"It's alright, Seth. Just tell us where she went." My voice sounded calm, but what it was hiding was a completely different story. I was really starting worry now, Nikki was really out there all by herself.

"Oh! Here, I'll upload a copy of the map to your computer."

The window with the map came up on my screen. I couldn't believe what I was seeing right now. Surely she wouldn't go there…all by herself.

"That's not where I think it is…is it?" I could tell by her voice that Cream was just as shocked as I was.

There wasn't any time to waste. Without saying a word I grabbed the vest on the back of my chair and zipped it on as I ran to the X Tornado 2.

I heard Cream yelling behind me. "Tails! Wait!"

I leapt up into the cockpit then looked back at her. I yelled for her to hear me over the roaring engine. "I'm going after her! Stay here in case she comes back!"

"I'll take the land route!"

"No!" I shouted for Knuckles to hear. "The Exus guards around that route will see you, you'll be shot!"

"I mean the route Nikki took on the map! It runs through one of Eggman's old bases!" My guess was he read my expression. I was tying not to show it, but I was still apprehensive about Knuckles heading out there as well. It was already bad enough that Nikki was out there. If something were to happen down in that base, there was no way I would be able to get there to help…and to make matters worse…that route runs right by one of the Exus' key factory plants, which means an endless amount of robots would attack if they were spotted. He continued to bring me back into focus. "Well, you've got a better idea?"

"Alright, just be careful! I know Nikki's fast, but take your time! You can't help her if you get caught!"

Knuckles nodded. "Right!"

"Be careful!" I heard Cream shout.

"You too!" With that, I took off down the runway and out the cavern exit.

_Please be alright…_

* * *

_**Narrator: None, third person format.**_

Meanwhile, the young hedgehog made it to the entrance to the underground base that once belonged to Dr. Eggman. To her right were Exus robots guarding the factory plant nearby. Normally, she would just run without thinking twice into the open…but this was different, she had to make it to her destination… She waited for the right moment. Just as the robot passed by, she quietly dashed toward the trap door and in one swift motion, lifted the door and then jumped in, holding onto the handle to close it right behind her. The young hedgehog allowed herself to drop from the trap door to the floor.

After glancing around and seeing if it was clear, Nikki took the digital map out of her quills. She then expanded it to take a closer look at the path she needed to take. She found it and then quickly placed the map back in her quills. The young hedgehog ran forward swiftly, keeping her footsteps as quiet as possible.

She managed to make it to one of the larger rooms of the base. Everything looked to as if Eggman had left in a hurry and just left everything there. All the machines that were in the room seemed to be intact, a layer of dust covered just about every corner of the place. Remembering what was on the map, Nikki dashed to her right and quickly ran toward the catwalk above the hanger.

_Well this is good, haven't ran into any rust buckets so far._

The young hedgehog continued down the catwalk and then jumped down to the other side of the hanger.

_Okay, the door should be just up ahead._

Suddenly, a feral bot jumped down from one of the upper rafters right in her path.

"Whoa!"

Thinking fast, Nikki extended her spikes on her arms she and purposely slide under the robot. She then cut one of the robot's legs and the rusted robot fell over on it's side unable to get up. Without stumbling, Nikki stood back on her feet and dashed right for the door before the robot had time to shoot her. She wasn't running away because she was scared, she just didn't have the time, nor the desire to mess with this robot right now…her mind was somewhere else.

Nikki made it and closed the door behind her, bullets pelted the door, but didn't break through to the other side. She didn't stay there very long, she quickly picked up where she left off and continued moving forward. She was driven to get to where she was going.

After that one feral bot appeared, Nikki was expecting more to show up. She looked around corners, making sure not to be taken by surprise. The young hedgehog was now halfway through the maze like base and that much closer to her destination.

The young hedgehog finally made it to the door that she was looking for and quickly ran inside. There near the wall of the room were four teleporting pads, just like it showed on the map Nikki had. She ran into the one to her far right and was instantly teleported to another one of Eggman's bases.

"Whoa, that was weird." She then continued out of the room. _Okay, better keep going._

She starting to find that this was a little too easy. There's no way that she could just run into one of Eggman's abandoned bases and only find just one feral bot. It just didn't make any sense. As she continued down the halls, she continued to think of where the rest of the former mad scientist's armada could've gone. She thought about the Exus facility just outside of the base. The Exus must've cleared this place out long ago and must've just happen to miss a robot. But what would they use rusted Egg-bots for? They were practically useless. They couldn't have used them for parts, could they?

The hedgehog realized that she already at the end of the hall and just above her was the exit. She jumped up and spun at the old trap door and forced it open. She wasted no time and rushed into the forest nearby. Nikki used the trees as cover, speeding every so often when she thought she was in the Exus patrols' blind spots.

_Almost there…_

* * *

_**Narrator: None, third person format.**_

The X Tornado 2 flew as fast as it was able toward what used to be the Mystic Ruins. It still looked similar to how it once was, but as Tails looked down, it wasn't quite the same to him. Since the base explosion, many areas of the Mystic became almost unbearable to live in, with only the exception of a few places that recovered naturally or that were at least ten miles away. For some reason, higher elevated areas were also unaffected by the blast's effects.

Tails finally made it to his destination…the remnants of the very base that Surge was created…and the last place that Sonic was seen alive. The twin-tailed fox sighed deeply and turned his gazed away for a moment. He already knew that Nikki wouldn't be in the area known as Ground Zero. With her sensitive sense to Chaos Energy, she would naturally keep away from that area, which was where the Chaos driven energy core blew up. Even though that happened nine years ago, the Chaos Radiation still remained.

He flew close to the Mystic Mountain Range nearby, if Nikki was to stop anywhere, this would be the closest place she could be and still see the crater. His keen fox eyes picked up a hint of blue close to what Sonic and him called the 'Look Out Point'. The reason being was it was the best place to see Eggman's base and get a better feel for the layout.

Tails turned on the radio. "Guys, I found her. Looks like she's okay, I'll call back if something goes wrong."

Tails allowed the X Tornado 2 to touch down in a clearing near 'Look Out Point'. Nikki wouldn't be able to notice him, because between the clearing and 'Look Out Point' was a dense forest that ran along the mountain slope.

He leapt effortlessly out of the cockpit and then flew a short distance up the hillside. He then moved slowly, trying not to let Nikki notice him. If Nikki came here by herself, and if she's anything like her father (which she is), she would want to be alone. Tails sneaked closer and noticed the wind picking up a little. He used this to his advantage and then flew into one of the trees. He then moved one of the branches slightly to get a better look. If something happened, he wanted to be able to help her.

His efforts proved to be in vain. Nikki noticed his presence, but she didn't turn around. She remained where she was, sitting on the edge of the cliff looking out on the horizon. "I know you're there, Tails. You can come out."

"_Damn." _Tails muttered under his breath. He jumped down from the tree, only turning his namesakes slightly so that he would land softly. The young hedgehog's guardian then walked over to her.

Nikki still didn't turn around. "Sorry I didn't tell you where I was going…I probably worried everyone."

"Yep, but no one's angry with you." Tails reassured her.

"How did you find out?"

"Seth, however I kind of had an idea that you'd wanted to come here."

"Why?"

"Because I did…I came back here about six months after…" Tails couldn't finish the sentence. He then continued. "I just kept thinking to myself that it was some sick twisted nightmare."

"I dream about it sometimes…"

Tails' eyes were surprised for a second, but then returned with a bit of sadness behind them. Nikki continued to explain. "…not as often as I used to. It used to be the same dream over and over again…"

Tails just didn't know how to respond to this. Sonic's death was hard for him to relive again, but he knew…he had to try and comfort Nikki somehow. He took a deep breath and then walked until he stood next to the young hedgehog. She just gave him a light glance, but that was enough for him to give a small smile. "Is this seat taken?"

Nikki gave just a small suppressed laugh, then replied. "No."

Tails then sat right next her, allowing his feet to dangle a little off the edge of the cliff.

Nikki then took a deep breath, it sounded like that was the first time she actually breathed since she had been there. She allowed her eyes to fall shut, letting Tails see how she was feeling. Though she didn't cry, Tails could tell that this was all hard for her. The young hedgehog looked emotionally exhausted. "Thanks for coming after me."

"You're family, I will always come if you need me."

"I did…just didn't realize that until now."

_Wow…even when she's downhearted…she still acts just like him. _It was really rare, but there were only a few times that Tails could recall that Sonic had that look about him. He still looked calm and controlled, even his voice sounded strong. But the things he said…were similar to what Nikki said just now.

Besides, Tails knew how dangerous it was to be alone with agonizing thoughts. After Sonic died, he was all alone. He left the Freedom Fighters for those six months afterward. And Shadow, of all Mobians, was the one that convinced him to come back and take the torch as leader of the Freedom Fighters. He started to remember that day…

* * *

_**Narrator: Tails**_

It had finally sank in for me. He was really gone…Sonic…my brother…was really gone… Every day seemed to go by in a blur, I had no idea I had been locked up in my house for as long as three months.

I didn't even care to watch the news anymore. There had been an evacuation warning earlier, but I chose to ignore it. The Chaos radiation from the explosion was heading toward the Mystic Ruins…toward my workshop. I already knew of this, but I deliberately chose not to leave. I just didn't see the point in fighting anymore…I felt completely numb.

Suddenly, I heard the door open. I really thought I had locked it. The intruder spoke in a tone so soft that I almost didn't hear him at first. "They told me I'd find you here."

"Go away, Shadow." I then realized who it actually was that had just walked in and nearly did a double take. "Shadow?"

"Um yeah, we've been through this. Also called the Ultimate Lifeform, remember?"

"If you just came here to boast, you can just walk right back out that door."

"Listen, I've been evacuating Mobians out of the Mystic Ruins all morning. So, lets just keep this simple. Pack up what you need and lets get out of here."

"Why bother…"

"Come again?"

"I said 'why should I bother?"

"You do realize that radioactive Chaos Energy is surrounding this entire area, right?"

"I'm not an idiot, Shadow."

"Then why aren't running to your plane right now?"

"Because!…" I stopped in mid sentence then turned away. A long, drawn out sigh escaped me. "…because I don't want to go."

"Damn it."

I glanced back at Shadow a little. Why the heck would Shadow care whether or not I stayed? "Let me guess…Amy told you to come get me?"

By the look on the 'Ultimate Lifeform's' face, I could tell I guessed right. I found that amusing for just a short moment, but it didn't last long.

"Look, you're coming with me one way or the other. Either you're walking out or I'm dragging you, your choice."

I could tell that Shadow didn't have enough energy to use Chaos Control, otherwise we wouldn't be arguing about this right now. If he did, he would've teleported me out instantly a long time ago. I didn't look back at him, I just stood at my computer desk.

Shadow sighed loudly, it was obvious that he was more annoyed with me than anything. "Do you really think that faker would've-"

_No way, he did not just say that! _A sudden wave of anger hit me and I slammed my fist into the desk in front of me. _**"How Dare You!"**_

I then looked at him, I felt the anger burning in my eyes as I spoke in a voice I almost didn't recognize as my own. "Don't you _ever…_talk about him like that in front of me!"

Shadow looked unfazed by my sudden rage. He just gave me that blank, unimpressed stare he always gave. "As I was saying…"

It took almost every fiber in my being not to just punch him. I knew that I would never stand a chance against him anyway, drained power or not. Especially since I hadn't taken care of myself after Sonic… That black hedgehog must've saw me as this pathetic fox that could no longer stand on his own two feet.

The black hedgehog continued. "Do you really think that _Sonic_…would've wanted you to just wait here and die?"

It felt like a massive weight had hit me in the chest. I hadn't thought of that, but it was true. If my bro was here, he would've never wanted this for me.

I heard Shadow's voice through my frozen trance. "Everyone says how smart you are, think."

I knew that was more than likely meant to be an insult more than anything, but I didn't care. I was still thinking about what he had said…

_He's right…_

_Sonic wouldn't want me to be here…he would never want me to…die like this…_

_He would say something like, "Keep it together and keep moving forward."…_

…_Big Bro…_

Suddenly, I felt something I hadn't felt in a long time. The weight had lifted off my chest and I felt renewed. I could still hear his voice as I remembered the words he spoke to me when I was young, when I had tried to keep up with him and would start to fall behind.

_Come on little bro, you got this. Just keep going._

_Sonic…_

"Alright…" I saw Shadow's eyes meet mine as I finally spoke. My voice sounded more confident that it had been in months. "…Let's go." I started walking toward the door to my workshop. "But I'm not leaving without the X Tornado."

Shadow rolled his eyes, "Fine." He then shook his head a little, as if to shake off the fact that he was exhausted.

I gave him a little smirk. "So, do you want a lift?"

Normally, Shadow might have refused my offer out of pride. However this time, he looked like he was too tired to care. Without saying a word he walked past me into the workshop. He then stopped and glanced back at me. "Oh, there was one other thing…"

I gave him a slightly confused look, did I really want to know what he was going to ask?

"With Sonic gone, the Freedom Fighters need a leader…Amy and the others voted…They want you to lead them."

_What?_

I tried to protest. "Are you kidding me? There's no way I'm qualified for that!"

"Heh, that's what I said."

"You're stronger than I am, why don't you lead?"

"I'm a fighter, not a babysitter. Besides, I play by my own rules."

I crossed my arms and lean against the doorway. "And yet here you are, picking me up from my house."

Shadow didn't like that remark very much. He glared at me with those blood red eyes. "You're already on thin ice, kid. Don't push it." He then leapt up effortlessly onto the wing of the plane.

I started to walk toward the X Tornado, but I felt something pull me back for just a moment. My eyes were drawn back toward the house.

I heard Shadow behind me. "Ugh, would you just hurry up and get in the plane already?"

I glanced back to acknowledge that I heard him, I took one step toward the X Tornado.

_I won't forget you…I promise…_

I ran and leapt into the cockpit of the X Tornado. The engine roared and the plane took off into the sky.

_I'll keep moving forward…I'll look back, but I'll never regret…_

_I'll live for both of us…_

* * *

_**Narrator: None, third person format.**_

Tails had never forgotten those promises.

The fox turned and looked at the young hedgehog next to him. She gave him a light glance, noticing that he still seemed lost in thought. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."

"Oh." Realizing that Tails was fine, Nikki's gaze returned toward the horizon. "Tails…"

"Hmm? What is it?" The fox asked in sincere tone.

"I…" Nikki turned her head away from Tails for a moment. She could feel moisture coming in behind her eyes. "_Keep it together…" _the young hedgehog muttered. She thought Tails didn't hear her, but with his sensitive hearing, he heard the soft whisper.

"Are…you okay?"

"Yeah, I just…" The young hedgehog was really trying her best to stay calm, but she finally reached her breaking point. This was just too much for a nine year old to bear.

Tails placed his hand on her shoulder. The young hedgehog then embraced Tails, burying her face his fur. He returned her embrace, offering her comfort. "It's alright."

"No it's not…" Nikki managed to force out, her voice was so quiet and tired. "I know everyone expects me…to stop the Exus…to protect Mobius like my father did…I don't even know what the hell I'm doing half the time…"

Tails laughed a little inside himself. He didn't dare laugh out loud to upset Nikki any further. It was just that last sentence she said, it was too cute coming from her. Tails knew what Nikki really meant. Like her father before her, she was too prideful to let those around her know everything that had been bothering her. He pulled himself together and tried to comfort the young hedgehog again. "Nikki…don't you see? You're already doing a great job, you're doing everything right."

Nikki's ears perked slightly forward, showing that she heard him. Tails continued. "Don't be ashamed of what you're feeling right now, it's perfectly normal. I know your father and if he was here…he would be proud of you…" The young hedgehog looked up at Tails, the tears were gone, but it there was a shine to them that showed that they had been there. Her eyes met his deep sapphire irises, they were so peaceful and strong. "I am proud of you."

"Oh no, stop. You're gonna get me started again." Nikki sniffled a little and wiped her eyes dry. Her smile returned. "Any chance that you won't tell the others back home about this?"

"My lips are sealed, trust me."

"I already do."

Tails smiled contently at Nikki, but then suddenly remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot…" The fox reached into one of his namesakes and took out the speedometer. "…Happy Birthday."

"Thanks…um…" the young hedgehog looked confusingly at the strange contraption. It looked like a watch, but it so bazaar to her. "What is it?"

Tails resisted another laugh. "It's an upgraded speedometer. You know the one Charles used to track your speed?"

Nikki nodded, "Yeah…"

"Well, this one can track much higher than that one. You see, Charles and I know that you topped the scale at 800 miles an hour. But with this speedometer, it can register at least up to a thousand."

The young hedgehog's ears perked completely up. "Whoa, are you serious?"

"Yep. You can take it with you and use it in training and see how fast you can really run." Tails then gave her a confident smirk. "So, what do think? It's still light out and it's safe on this side of the mountain…wanna give it a test run?"

"Sure." She then thought for a second. "Wait, I still want to be able to come here at least every year."

"As long as you tell me when and called me when you got here, it's fine by me."

Nikki smiled, "Deal."

"So, you ready?"

She gave him a thumbs up. "You bet."

Tails ran up ahead toward the plane to he would be able to keep up with Nikki when she ran at sonic speed.

Nikki looked back at the crater behind her. _Happy Birthday…Dad. Don't worry, I'll be back…I promise._

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_ Okay so lets review...

Nikki was born on Sonic's 21st Birthday, which was the same day that the prologue of this story took place. Yeah, I'm cruel.

Also, we finally saw Shadow! Yay! I was so excited to finally get him in. :) It won't be his last appearance either.

So, what happens next? Find out in the next Chapter :)

For Chapter Updates...Check Profile :)


	16. Chapter 16: Cold

here we are, Chapter 16.

Thank you to those that reviewed. :)

anyway, enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 16: Cold**_

* * *

_**Narrator: None, third person format.**_

The young hedgehog was curled up sleeping in her hammock under the covers. Night, the dark Chao, was curled up in a little bed that Cream had brought in for him. Nikki knew she couldn't have kept Night a secret for very long, especially since just the other day he had learned to breath fire and nearly burned Knuckles' shoes off. Luckily, the echidna had an extra pair.

Both slept peacefully through the night. For Nikki, she had been sleeping better since she went to Ground Zero just a month ago.

Suddenly, a red light started flashing and a loud siren rang in the room.

The young hedgehog was startled awake. "What the-?" Then she was tangled in her blanket and both fell right out of her hammock with a thud. "Whoa! Omph!"

Nikki sat up and rubbed the back of her head, still half asleep. "Gah, what the hell?"

Night was startled as well and then dashed and hid under Nikki's blanket on the floor. Finally awake and noticing the scared Chao, Nikki petted his head. "It's okay."

The young hedgehog then got up and ran out of the room, the little Chao hiding behind Nikki's shoulder.

_Well, what ever set it off, it's not in this room._

Nikki swiftly ran down the stairs, preparing herself just in case something came just around the corner. She heard voices coming from the hanger and then ran in that direction. She opened the door and was slightly surprised by what she saw.

There was Tails, using a fire extinguisher to put out a fire coming from one of his machines. He just managed to put it out and then leaned against the wall. A huge sigh escaped him.

"You okay?" Nikki asked with concern.

"Yeah, Yeah, I'm good." The fox answered in between breaths. The alarm was still going off. "Oh for crying out loud, that's enough. It's out!"

The alarm instantly stopped. Seth's voice sounded in the room. "Sorry."

Nikki leaned against the doorway, this had already happened before. "What was it this time?"

"The drive generator." Tails forced out still trying to catch his breath. He had heard the alarm go off and rushed out there and since his room is right next to the workshop and the hanger, naturally he got there first.

"Again? But you already fixed that."

The drive generator sparked violently and threatened to catch flame again, but Tails still had the fire extinguisher and quickly sprayed it again.

The alarm started going off again, Tails rolled his eyes and looked at the ceiling. "Seth!"

The alarm instantly turned off. "Sorry Sir."

Knuckles and Cream came in and stopped at the doorway.

Cream was the first to speak while Knuckles started to scan the area using his cybernetic eye. "Everything okay in here?"

"Yeah, it was just the generator."

Cream sighed loudly, "Again really?"

Knuckles rolled his eyes and then turned off his scanner. "That's the fifth time this week…and it's Wednesday."

"Ugh I know, sorry guys." Tails seemed a little frustrated, if not tired. They all were.

"I mean, what is that thing's problem anyway?" Knuckles shook his head.

"Well, for one thing it needs a new belt. It also needs a new filter."

"So, just get a new one."

Tails laughed, "That's funny Knux."

"I'm serious, how old is that thing anyway?"

"Well, I salvaged it from my old workshop in the Mystic Ruins."

"Yep, that's why."

Cream gave Tails a confusing look. "I don't understand, why can't you get new parts?"

"That's just it, there are no new parts. I'd have to go to a trading post or salvage them from a junk yard." Tails answered.

"Which that last one would bring us right back to where we started." Knuckles added.

"That leaves the trading post."

"Knuckles can go." Cream volunteered.

The echidna shot Cream a confusing look. "Say what?"

"Knux besides me, you're the only one that can find the right part. You can use your scanner." Tails stated.

"Fine, might as well. Better me than you going there anyway."

Now Nikki was curious, "Why?"

Knuckles answered the young hedgehog's question. "Lets just say the folks there don't like the Freedom Fighters very much. And no offense to Tails, he'd be noticed in a heartbeat."

"Heh, yeah it's easier to sneak in as a traveling echidna than a two-tailed fox." Tails laughed.

"Right then, being as I'm not gonna get anymore sleep tonight…I'll go right now to Former Station Square. I should be there by morning if I take the shortcut." The shortcut Knuckles was talking about was the same one that Nikki took to the Mystic Mountains. From there, it was an all day trip to get to Former Station Square safely.

"Great, just be careful." Tails said as he stood up brushed himself off.

"Yeah, try not to blow yourselves up until I get back." Knuckles joked and then took off up the stairs and out the door to the exit.

"I'll see if I can't 'Jimmy rig' this thing to buy us at least a few more hours of sleep." Tails started getting to work.

"Need anything?" Nikki offered.

Tails brainstormed for a moment. "Lets see…for the belt I could use a bike chain, you can find that in the basement. And as for the filter…I could probably use some cloth with two metal frames welded on the outside."

Nikki nodded, "Got it, be right back." The young hedgehog dashed off toward the door to the basement.

Knowing that Nikki would be back in no time at all, Tails started gathering his tools. He started getting to work welding a metal frame together.

As he predicted, Nikki was back in the workshop in a flash with the bike chain and piece of cloth. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Tails quickly welded the cloth to the metal frame.

"Wow, and they say I'm fast." Nikki laughed a little.

The two-tailed fox then started attaching the 'MacGyver-ed' parts to the generator.

"Well, it looks like you two have this covered. I'm going back to bed." Cream said with a yawn.

"Kay, see ya in the morning."

With that, Cream walked out of the hanger and closed the door behind her.

In no time at all, Tails had the parts in place. He wiped his brow. "Whew, well that should hold for now." He then looked at the young hedgehog and little Chao next to him. "We should try and get some sleep while we still can."

Nikki yawned. "Yeah, no argument there." The young hedgehog then gave a light wave to Tails. "See ya in a few."

She then dashed out of the hanger and up the stairs to her room.

* * *

Tails was sound asleep, when he heard another alarm ring out. Groggily, he sat up. "Ugh, what now?"

The tired fox then looked up at the ceiling, "Seth, what's going on? And would you please turn that off!"

The alarm turned off in that instant. "Sorry to wake you Sir, but you need to see this."

Tails rubbed his eyes, "Alright, pull it up on my computer. I'll look at it tomorrow."

"But Sir, it's urgent."

"Ugh fine. I'm up." Tails shook and fixed his bed head. He then grabbed his spinal vest and put it on. The tired fox then got up and walked into the workshop. "So, lets have a look at this."

Tails pulled up the digital screen, a map popped up and a small dot blinked on the bottom of the map near the Southern Icecap.

In that instant, Nikki opened the door and ran in. "Now what happened? Was it the generator thing again?"

"No, that is actually holding up. But this…" Tails trailed off as he looked back at the map. "…this might be the turning point we've been looking for."

Nikki walked up and looked at the massive map. "So, what are we looking at?"

"Well the alarm that went off just now wasn't the fire alarm, I was to tired to notice that before. Seth brought that to my attention though."

"You're welcome." Seth sounded quite pleased with himself.

"It's an alarm that's set to go off when one of my sensors detect a strong surge of Chaos Energy."

"So this little blip there?"

"Yep."

"What can cause that much energy?"

"A Chaos Emerald." Tails answered. He then pondered for a moment. "But it is odd that it would show itself now, I mean why didn't my sensors pick it up before?"

"Well, you said it was in the Southern Icecap, right? Maybe the ice hid it."

"That could be possible, but it could also be a trap. But that doesn't make sense either, why the Southern Icecap?" Tails was trying to figure out if this was really a trap or not. It just seemed too good to be true for a Chaos Emerald to just show up out of Surge's reach.

Nikki crossed her arms. "Well I say if there is a Chaos Emerald there, we should get to it before the Exus Army does."

Tails nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a plan."

"But Sir, what about Cream?"

"You could tell her where we've gone to when she wakes up."

"Me? B-b-but, Sir-!"

"I just would really hate to wake her and this shouldn't take too long. We should be back midnight tomorrow." It was true, by the time Nikki and Tails would get to the Southern Icecap in the X Tornado 2, it would be noon tomorrow. That would give them at least a few hours to find it with Tails' Emerald radar and then be on their way home by tomorrow's nightfall.

"Y-yes Sir." Seth gave in.

Tails then turned to Nikki, "We'll need to pack some supplies just in case."

Nikki nodded, "I'm on it." She then took off upstairs to her room to pack. Tails did the same and packed up the X Tornado 2 with everything they would need for the trip.

* * *

In no time at all, Tails and Nikki were on their way to the Southern Icecap.

The young hedgehog was catching up on sleep in the back cockpit of the plane.

Tails was still awake piloting at the controls. He couldn't sleep even if he wanted to. Something about this just didn't seem right to him. He couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. He always seemed to have a six sense for this sort of thing, but he always pushed that to the back of his mind, he had to.

He looked back at the young hedgehog in the backseat. She was curled up in the chair, sleeping soundly. Seeing her, Tails couldn't help but smile.

There was a strong bond between the two and they both knew it. It was more than just a bond between child and guardian. It was similar to the bond the fox and Sonic had shared long ago, only the roles now were reversed.

Tails looked outside and could see that they were almost there. The fox glanced back toward the little sleeping hedgehog. "Nikki…Nikki wake up, we're here."

"Hmm? Fif mum mimum…"

Tails laughed out loud, "What?"

Nikki pulled the covers down a little and looked tiredly at the fox. "I said, 'five more minutes'."

Tails tried to suppress another laugh, "Oh, okay. That's what I thought you said." The fox then shrugged, "Thought that you would want to check out the view, but if you're too sleepy…"

Nikki's eyes sprang open and she looked out the glass dome of the cockpit just past Tails' seat. Because the sun was high in the sky, it caused a shimmer of endless light as it reflected off of the icecap.

The young hedgehog's eyes looked on in amazement, "Wow."

Tails pulled the X Tornado 2 in for a landing and landed safely on the ice. Nikki leapt right out of the plane and landed easily on the snow covered ice. Tails wasn't expecting that Nikki would do that, he was used to Sonic being afraid of the water underneath the ice. But Nikki wasn't worried about that at all, she was having a blast. The young hedgehog had never seen snow before. She fell back and landed in the fresh powered snow. She took a deep breath in and released it, feeling completely at ease.

Suddenly, powder snow sprayed in the young hedgehog's face. Nikki sat up and shook the snow off her fur and blew her banks out of her face. She then looked at where the spray of snow came from, Tails' namesakes had just stopped spinning. The fox looked at her and raised one of his eyebrows.

Nikki in turn gave him a smirk. "Oh really, that's how you wanna play huh?"

Both of Tails' brows raised at that response.

The young hedgehog curled up and began to spin in the snow right next to her, the snow sprayed up and hit Tails.

The two tailed fox laughed as snow blew at him. "Wait ! Wait a minute!"

Both were laughing and having a great time. For Tails, it the most fun he had in a very long time. The snow fight escaladed into a snowball fight, but when Nikki dodged one snowball and tried to run around Tails, one of her feet sank deep into the snow and got stuck.

Tails laughed for a minute, "You alright?"

Nikki blew her bangs out of her face and looked at the fox. "Yeah, I'm good." She then tried to pull her foot out of the snow, but she wasn't getting very far.

Tails was trying to suppress another laugh as he walked over to the young hedgehog and offered her a hand. Nikki smiled and grabbed it.

Tails started spinning his namesakes. "Okay, now hold on."

He gently lifted her out of the snow and set her on a patch of snow that wasn't too deep.

Nikki looked up at him. "Thanks." She then took another step, but then fell through, all that could be seen was her bangs sticking out of the snow. Tails could hear Nikki's muffled curses under the snow couldn't help but laugh. That wasn't what he intended to happen at all, but it was hilarious.

* * *

Meanwhile, Back at the Freedom Fighters' Base…

Cream had just woken up and walked into the hanger to check on Tails. "Hey so how's it going?" She took a closer look and noticed that Tails wasn't there. "Hello?…Tails?…Tails!" She was completely confused. "Hmm? That's odd, where did he go?"

The rabbit saw a piece of paper taped to one of Tails' computers. She took it off and read it.

_XXXXXXXXXXX_

_Hey Cream,_

_Sorry I had to take off with such short notice._

_Don't worry, I'll be back and I will be careful._

_The Chaos Energy radar picked up something_

_in the Southern Icecap and Nikki and I went to_

_investigate. We should be back Friday night._

_Love You,_

_Tails._

_XXXXXXXXXXX_

"He What?" Cream dropped the note and tried to contact Tails on his communicator.

She heard something on the other line. "Hello Cream."

"Tails I-!"

"Sorry, but if you're getting this message, then I'm not able to answer the phone right now. Either that or there's a bad connection. But leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

"Damn answering machine." She heard the beep and continued. "Tails! You better call me back when you get this!"

She then hung up the communicator and placed it on the desk. The rabbit then sighed.

_I really hope they're alright…_

* * *

Back on the icecap, Tails and Nikki had started their search for the Chaos Emerald. Tails had his Emerald Radar, it looked similar to a watch except it had what looked to be a radar screen on it instead of a timer. Every once in a while Tails would pull up a digital map and compare the location on the map to the one on the radar.

"I think we're getting close." Tails said as he compared his calculations.

Nikki was following close behind the two tailed fox, matching him step for step. There wasn't much she could do, the snow was too deep for her to just venture off without getting stuck in the snow. She had to use the footprints that Tails had already made when he walked ahead.

Tails looked on ahead of him and noticed a massive glacier in the distance. By the look of the radar and the map, it seemed as though the signal was coming from the top of the glacier. Of course, it could've been underneath the icecap entirely deep in the ocean, but he was really hoping that it wasn't. He had been working on a submarine mode for the X Tornado 2, but it wasn't finished yet. Not to mention it would be too risky try out in the middle of nowhere if something went wrong. He couldn't drag Nikki into that kind of situation.

They reached the base of the glacier and looked up as it towered above them. Tails looked back at the young hedgehog. "So, up for some ice climbing?"

The young hedgehog began to spin. "Way ahead of ya." Nikki then spin dashed up the side of the glacier. Tails spun his namesakes and caught up to her, flying just right next to the young hedgehog.

They reach the top and landed easily. Both looked back for a moment and realized how high they actually were from where they started. The radar began to resonate a loud beeping sound. It was what Tails had hoped for, that meant that the Chaos Emerald was definitely at the top of the glacier and not underneath the massive ice sheet all together.

Tails still couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. He wasn't used to missions being this easy. He looked around suspiciously as they walked forward.

Nikki could fell that Tails was on edge. "Tails? Is something-!"

She heard something that caught her attention somewhere behind her. Tails had heard it too and whipped around. "Nikki! Get Down!"

The young hedgehog dove into the snow while Tails leapt into the air and spun his namesakes to keep him in flight. In that instant, the snow was parted by a ray of heat that blasted though right where they were walking.

_I knew it. Damn! _Now they both were in real trouble. Whoever it was that attacked them was using the snow as cover and Tails couldn't see them from where he was. And worst of all, the snow was way too deep for Nikki to run at sonic speed.

Nikki could hear the muffled sound of something moving fast through the snow. This was the worst scenario she could possibly be in. If she stayed where she was, she would be attacked. But if she tried to spin through the snow to escape, she could end up burying herself or just spin right off the edge of glacier. She decided that the former was the worse of the two and began to spin. The hedgehog tried to home in on the sound of the fast moving snow digger.

Tails looked around and to find where Nikki and the intruder were. The moment that Nikki started spinning under the snow, he saw where she was by a simple spray of snow.

He started to fly toward her when a menacing voice sounded behind him, _**"And where do you think you're going 'fly boy'?"**_

Tails turned around and saw an Exus robot flying just a few feet behind him. " 'Fly boy'? Is that really the best you can come up with?" The flying fox was sounding like he was unimpressed, but it was a bluff. This robot was an Exus officer, it was apparent by the armor type. It was sleek and fast looking, similar to the one that attacked the base.

Something about this Exus officer looked familiar to Tails, he was certain he'd met him before. Tails glanced back down at where he last saw Nikki then looked back at the robot. He then stopped spinning his namesakes and then began to free fall toward the ground. Tails reached into one of his namesakes and pulled out a gun. He then flew up again and aimed right at the robot above him.

The robot in turn aimed his laser at Tails. The metal monstrosity then realized too late that what Tails had in his hand wasn't a hand gun, it was a flare gun.

The fox fired and a bright light blinded the area. He then swiftly allowed himself to fall back down toward the top of the glacier. Tails spun his namesakes at the last second to slow his decent. He then looked up for the robot that he knew would come barreling toward him.

Nikki in the meantime, after chasing the stupid thing this entire time, had finally hit her target. Though she instantly regretted doing so as a violent shock was sent though her as soon as she touched it. "Gahhhh!" _What the hell?_

The shock caused the snow around her and the mysterious target to melt, revealing it. It was another Exus robot, but this one was different. Something about it didn't seem right. It was long and slender, it's arms were significantly longer and almost touched the ground. It's legs still had that bestial look to them, but were long and slender as well.

The dark robot glared at her with it's piercing red eyes. The way it moved looked similar to that of some psychopath, but it was all intentional. It was so odd that Nikki couldn't pinpoint where the robot would strike next. She ended up staying on the defensive, dodging every move that came her way.

Tails looked and saw the other robot that was fighting with Nikki. He looked like he recognized that one as well. Suddenly, the blue lights on his vest became visible through his lab coat. He then spun is namesakes so fast that they became spinning blades. He knelt down, building energy. He then sprang forward and a bright golden flash dashed toward the menacing robot that was charging at Nikki. But before he could reach her, the other robot flew in and stood in Tails' path. The robot then tried to deflect Tails' attack, but the golden comet was moving too fast to stop. Instead, the two crashed into each other with incredible force and blew each other back.

Nikki dodged and then made another attempt at attacking her opponent. As soon as she touched the robot, another shock flooded her system. "AHHHHH!"

Tails heard her yell and jumped back to his feet just in time to block the other robot's attack with his namesakes.

The young hedgehog recovered quickly, but still had no idea how to get past this robot's impenetrable shield of electricity.

_I don't get it, how can this robot move through the snow so easily and use electricity?_

As the fox was recovering from a block, his communicator rang in his ear. He clicked it really fast and then met another one of the Exus officer's blows. "Hello?"

"Tails. I have no idea how to stop this thing, I keep getting shocked."

"Really? Are there any wires exposed on it?"

"No none."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"I know. I would think the snow would shock it too, right?"

"Yeah, I would think so."

"Then what the hell is going-? Wait." Nikki suddenly remembered something.

"Tails, where's the Chaos Emerald?"

"Hold on, I'll check." Tails then spun his namesakes and thrashed them into his opponent, knocking him at least thirty feet away. He then leapt up into the air and quickly checked his Emerald radar. "Um…Nikki…"

"It's in my robot, isn't it?" Tails heard on other line.

"Yep."

"Of course it is." Nikki said in an ironic tone.

"Nikki, if you're getting shocked just by touching it, the Chaos Emerald might be too strong for you to handle. Try and stay away from it, I'll think of something."

"I'll try, but this creep is really insistent on playing tag here." This was really weird for Nikki, she was used to rushing in and attacking, not playing keep away with a deranged super robot.

Suddenly, Tails came up with an idea. He touched his communicator again. "Nikki, trade me."

"What?"

"Just jump."

"Alright." The young hedgehog leapt into the air and Tails caught her.

Tails' opponent flew back into the air and readied himself for another charge. The flying fox pulled his arm back. "Okay spin…"

The robot then dove toward them. Tails threw Nikki toward it and gave the command. "Now!"

In that instant, Nikki spun and hit the robot dead on, cutting through it and sending it into the snow below.

Tails then turned to the other robot that was hiding itself in the snow, with the Emerald radar, Tails could pinpoint exactly where the robot would be. The robot leapt up to grab Tails, but the fox was way ahead of him and gracefully flew out of the way. He then grabbed the robot's shoulder and the lights on his vest glowed brightly again. Using the energy from the vest, Tails pile drove the robot into the glacier. The fox then jumped back and landed a few yards away.

Tails was trying to catch his breath, using the vest on it's own took a lot of energy, but using it to increase his strength to this magnitude nearly exhausted him. The fox almost collapsed, but caught himself before he hit the snow covered ground.

Nikki saw this and ran toward him. "Tails!" She knelt right by his side.

"I'm alright." The fox forced through clenched teeth.

The two heard something coming from the mangled metal in front of them. Using the power to the Chaos Emerald, the robot attempted to rebuild itself.

Tails struggled to stand back up, but didn't get too far before the pain from his old injuries came back again.

The young hedgehog stepped forward and stood defiantly between the robot and Tails.

"Nikki…no…get back."

"It's okay, Tails." She looked back and gave him a reassuring smile. "I got this."

_Nikki… _Tails was really worried about her, but he knew in the condition he was in, there was no way he could be any help in this situation.

The young hedgehog quickly looked back at the robot, her brow creased forward. She readied herself, waiting to see if the robot dared to charge at them.

_This whole time…I was trying to resist that energy coming from the robot…the energy from the Chaos Emerald…I wonder…_

The robot was now standing and staring straight at the small hedgehog.

_I'm tired of running…this is it…_

Gears began to rotate and the robot started to charge.

_Time to see what I'm made off._

The young hedgehog dashed forward at blinding speed. She extended the spikes on her arms and back and leapt up so that she was eye level with the robot. Nikki disappeared for a brief second, then suddenly reappeared right in front of the robot's face, her hand placed firmly on the robot's forehead.

Instantaneously, the shock flooded Nikki's system again. This time however, Nikki didn't back off.

Though still feeling the shock, Nikki felt a new surge of energy flow through her. She quickly began pushing the robot backward as the energy increased. Unfortunately, the edge of the glacier was right behind the robot.

As the energy surged even more, Nikki's hand began to bend the metal surrounding it. Fueled by the energy of the Chaos Emerald inside the robot, Nikki spun and drove herself through the robot. She hoped to run into the emerald, but she missed it. Nikki then spun to send herself upward before the robot hit the ice below. She then landed softly on the ice a few yards away. Suddenly, the hedgehog heard something that made her spikes stand up.

_**Crack!**_

She looked ahead of her and saw the robot had gotten up and had taken a step toward her and the ice that they were standing on, was dangerously thin. Her gaze followed the ice cracking under her feet.

_Oh…crap._

The ice broke under one of her feet and it slipped in, the stinging sensation of the freezing water forced Nikki to quickly pull her foot out of the water.

"Eyie! Shit, that's cold!"

Recklessly the robot charged forward, it's feet slipping into the freezing water and tried to pounce on Nikki to pin her to the ice. But Nikki was way ahead of it and leapt backward. The robot's front arm was forced through the ice and Nikki had to grab onto the tilted part of the ice flow above it to avoid falling in. The robot realized what was happening and then in one swift motion, placed both feet on the ice wall and pushed off, causing it to flip over.

"Oh no you don't!" Nikki caught onto what the robot was plotting and leapt from the top of the now falling ice wall. As the ice flow toppled over and splashed into the frozen ocean, Nikki landed on the robot, using it to slow down her momentum so that she didn't break the ice when she landed on the other side. She quickly turned around to face the robot. Her foot that had been dunked into the water a few moments ago was starting to go numb, Nikki wouldn't be able to stand on it soon…which wouldn't be too much of a problem, if there wasn't a psychotic robot trying to kill her right now.

Up at the top of the glacier, Tails had caught his second wind and ran to the edge. He looked down and saw the dire situation that Nikki was in and flew down to help her. But the robot intervened and plowed into Tails with incredible force, sending the flying fox into the side of the glacier. Tails hit the ice head first and was knocked out.

"Tails!" Nikki shouted. Her attention was brought back to the menacing robot. She took a fighting stance and waited for the monster to make it's move. "You…are going to regret that."

The robot stepped closer, the ice seemed to growl with anger from the strain under it's metallic feet. The robot then jumped at her. Nikki leapt up to dodge, but the robot swung it's tail and smacked the little hedgehog onto the ice with a crushing blow. Nikki swiftly tried to stand back on her feet, but this time the robot leapt up and was over her in a split second. She blocked the robot's attack, but the pressure broke the ice underneath her, causing both her and the robot to fall through into the freezing water.

Nikki drew on some of the energy from the Chaos Emerald inside the robot and then spun. She plowed her way though the robot and the robot sank to the bottom of the ocean. She then swam as fast as she could to the surface and grabbed the icy ledge.

The poor young hedgehog was freezing, trying desperately to catch her breath. She tried to pull herself out, but the ice was too slippery and she was so cold that her muscles refused to obey her.

She could see Tails laying on the ice at the base of the glacier. "T-Tails…"

The young hedgehog tried again, hoping that he would hear her. "Tails!"

The fox's eyes slowly opened. He pushed himself up, supporting himself on his elbows. A few drops of blood came out of a cut on his forehead and splattered the ice in front him. Tails shook his head a little to try and regain focus. He then looked ahead of him and saw the little hedgehog. "…Nikki?"

Suddenly, Nikki felt something grab her leg in the water. She tried to get a grip on the ice, but still felt herself sliding backward. _Shit!_

As she was being pulled under, she shouted one last time. _"TAILS!"_

Hearing her, Tails' eyes sprang open. He saw Nikki's hand sink into the water and dashed forward. "Nikki!"

He dove in and as soon as he hit the water, spun his namesakes to propel himself downward.

* * *

Author's Note: Will Tails and Nikki make it through this alive? Want to chase me with a stick?

1: find out in the next chapter of Sonic's Legacy.

2: Please don't hit me! *cringe*

To find out about updates...check my profile. :)


	17. Chapter 17: Elite

*Runs from KayKay wielding a deadly stick* "I'm Sorry, I'm Sorry, I'm Sorry, I'm Sorry," Just kidding. lol :)

Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying my story so far.

This was another chapter that I had been excited about even before I started writing it, so excited in fact that I had already had notes written down for most of the chapter before hand. Which resulted in this chapter being finished so quickly :)

Well here's Chapter 19.

Enjoy :)

* * *

**Chapter 19: Elite**

* * *

**Narrator: None, third person format.**

Knuckles opened the door and entered the base.

"Oh thank Mobius, Knuckles is back." Seth seemed to sigh with relief.

"Geez Seth, I know I'm a little late getting back, but you wouldn't believe what I had to go through to get-" The echidna stopped when he noticed Cream had just finished 'Jimmy rigging' the generator…again. "Cream?"

"Yeah, you didn't run into Tails and Nikki on the way here did you?" Cream asked as she took a hand towel to try and wipe off the oil from repairing the machine.

Knuckles shot her a confusing look. "Um…no and…wait a minute, you repaired the machine?"

"Seth helped me, but yes." Knuckles could tell by the sound of Cream's voice that she was slightly irritated by something.

"And…Tails isn't here?"

Cream shook her head and handed him the note that she found. "Here, read this."

Knuckles took the note and looked it over…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Hey Cream,_

_Sorry I had to take off with such short notice._

_Don't worry, I'll be back and I will be careful._

_The Chaos Energy radar picked up something in_

_the Southern Icecap and Nikki and I went to_

_investigate. We should be back Friday night._

_Love You,_

_Tails._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What? What the hell is that kid thinking?"

"I know, that's the same thing I was thinking." Cream agreed.

"I mean really, I know the guy likes you and I told him he should tell you, not write in a letter. I swear the guy might be a genius, but he's hopeless when it comes to a relationship."

Cream shot Knuckles a confusing look. "What?" She then tried to bring Knuckles back to the real issue at hand. "Okay, first of all…Tails and I have been dating for three months now, where the hell have you been?"

"Wait a minute, what? Okay that's new to me. Why doesn't anyone tell me anyth-?"

"Secondly…" Cream cut Knuckles off. "…didn't you notice anything else?"

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know. How about where they went and what day he said they should be back?"

"Yeah, Friday. So what?"

" 'So what'? Knuckles, it's Saturday! Night!"

Knuckles' brows raised. "Oh."

"Yeah 'oh'."

"Didn't you try calling him?"

"Yes, twelve times."

"I'm sure you're over exaggerating."

"Oh really, wanna check with Seth?" Cream crossed her arms.

Knuckles started to say something, but stopped himself. He then let a long annoyed sigh. "Alright, if it makes you feel better. I'll go check on them for you, happy?"

"Thank you."

Knuckles rolled his eyes, he then remembered something. "Wait, what about the machine?"

"Don't worry, Seth and I can take care of that. Right Seth?"

"Sure."

"Guess I'll have to take the old hover bike there."

* * *

…Back on the Southern Icecap…

* * *

**Narrator: Sonica. (Nikki)**

I heard the wind howling…it was really close. I expected to be freezing, but I felt warm though I felt numb when I tried to move. Something soft was covering me, protecting me from the cold air that threatened to take me again. I opened my eyes and what I saw made my heart stop. Tails' namesakes were wrapped around me, but he was almost covered in icy snow. His eyes were closed…

I remembered…I was pulled through the ice and he dove in to save me.

"_No…Tails no…w-wake up…"_

_Oh Mobius…please this can't be happening…Not him, please not him…_

_The one Mobian in this world that gave me a second chance…He's more of a father to me than I've ever known…he can't die…please don't let him…_

I leaned in close, wishing that he can hear me.

"…_Please wake up…"_

Suddenly I felt a hand brush my hair back. My heart skipped a beat as I looked up and saw Tails' sapphire eyes meeting mine.

"_And here I was worried about you…"_

I couldn't believe it, he was okay. Tears threatened to reveal themselves behind my eyes. I'm strong, but to nearly lose someone so close to me? I couldn't hold myself back. I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his fur. I felt the warmth of his embrace as he comforted me. _That was when I decided…I will never let anyone sacrifice themselves for me…ever again._

* * *

**Narrator: None, third person format.**

The two were sheltered from the icy wind in a small cavern that Tails had carved out of the snow. He didn't have time to build a fire, he wanted to make sure that Nikki was alright. Even though Nikki woke up to find Tails asleep, it was Tails who was worried if the little hedgehog was going to make it through the night. He was so relieved when Nikki woke him up.

Now that she was awake, Tails felt comfortable enough to leave her to get a fire going. He just had to wait for the sun to get into the right position to start it, which would be very soon. The fox took off his lab coat and wrapped it around Nikki. He then took out a small notepad out of his lab coat pocket.

Nikki gave him a slightly confused look. Tails read Nikki's expression before she had the chance to speak. "Don't worry, you'll see."

Tails tore a few blank pages out and laid them on the ground. He then took his Emerald radar and held it out of the entrance to the cave. The sun hit the reflective casing of the radar and Tails aimed the beam of light toward the pile of scrap paper. As soon as the light made contact with it, a flame began to grow.

"Whoa, nice." Nikki gave him a smile.

Tails smiled back and noticed he still had some snow on him, he brushed it off and then sat down next to Nikki by the fire.

The young hedgehog then sighed.

"Hmm? What is it?" Tails asked curiously.

"Back on the ice, I wasn't able to get the Chaos Emerald."

"Don't worry, we'll get it back. At least it's at the bottom of the ocean now. As soon as I finish the X Tornado 2's submarine mode, we'll come back and get it. Problem solved."

"Wait, your plane can do that?"

"Well, I've been experimenting with it." He then remembered something and raised his eyebrows a little. "Don't tell Cream, or she'll kill me."

"Your secret's safe with me." Nikki laughed.

Tails then stood up. "Well, I'm gonna go see if I can get the plane running again."

"It's not working?"

"Yeah well, it was really cold last night. I'm sure everything would just need to warm up is all. I'll be right back, if you need anything just contact me on the communicator okay?"

"No problem." Nikki reassured him.

Tails quickly flew out and headed toward the X Tornado 2.

It took a little while, but Tails finally got everything running again. "Whew, everything looks good. Let's see if it'll start up."

Tails jumped into the cockpit and then turned the ignition. "Come on, Come on…" The plane roared to life. "Yes!"

Suddenly Cream's voice came on the radio. "Hello?…Tails?…Is that you?"

Tails pushed the button down for the mic. "Hello?…Cream?"

"Where the hell have you been? I've been trying to reach you!"

"We ran into a little trouble, but everything's fine."

"Fine? Three days, Miles Prower! Three days straight! That's how long I've been calling you!"

_Oh boy she's mad. _Tails knew that whenever Cream used his real name, she was furious with him. He suddenly realized something when he calculated in his head how long they've been away. _Wait…three days? Has it really been that long? Nikki and I were passed out for two days?_

_Oh shit! _"Cream, I'm sorry. I had no idea-"

"Well, you should be!"

"I'll explain everything when we get back, I promise."

There was a pause on the other end.

"Cream…Cream, you there?"

When Cream finally answered her tone was still worried, but serious. "Tails, we have a problem. Knuckles just called me, He just ran into an Exus Elite!"

"What? Where?"

Cream gave Tails the coordinates of Knuckles' last transmission.

Tails sighed. "Alright…Cream, you know the X Hurricane?"

"Um…yeah."

"Take that and come straight here. Pick up Nikki and take her home. I'll send you the coordinates to her location. Then evacuate the nearest town. I'll go help Knux." Tails pulled the throttle and the plane took to the sky.

* * *

Just before Cream had contacted Tails, Knuckles had made it to the Southern Icecap. Without stopping the hover bike, he pulled out the map and tried to pinpoint where Tails and Nikki could've headed to from there. It had already been two days since he left the base.

_Come on you guys…where are you?_

Suddenly, something broke through the ice just ahead of him. He recognized it in an instant…it was an Exus Elite, one of the top robots in Surge's army.

_Shit!_ He tried to turn away from it, but the robot stretched out it's arm and hit the hover bike, breaking it. Knuckles jumped off just in time before the bike fell apart. "Hey! That was a loaner!"

The robot turned to the echidna, without saying a word it lunged at him. Knuckles dodged it blow for blow and tried to contact Cream on his communicator…no answer. It was pretty much a rule for them that, if any of them ran into an Exus Elite, they had to contact someone. This was meant for getting word to nearby villages so they could evacuate. Not only that, it was very unlikely that anyone, not even Sonic himself, would be able to take an Exus Elite down by themselves.

Knuckles kept trying to get a signal, while just barely staying out of the robot's reach.

_Come on…damn it! No reception._

Knuckles growled under his breath, "Forget this!" He then rushed forward and slammed his fist into the robot, he then leapt over it and landed on the other side. The robot didn't seem fazed by that attack at all and lashed it's arm out toward him.

He finally got through just after he dodged the robot's attack. "Yes!"

But…

"Hi, this is Cream the Rabbit. Please leave a message."

"Oh come on, seriously?"

…_beep…_

"Hey Cream, got a problem here. Pick up the damn phone!" He then jumped over the robot's arm. "Okay, you know what never mind. Just ran into an Elite in the Southern Icecap, you know what to do." He then turned the communicator off and then continued to fight against the Elite robot.

**"**_**Now why on Mobius would you be calling for help? There's no one here that could possibly save you. Why don't you just give up and come with me quietly?"**_

"Ha! I'd rather die!"

**"**_**Very well, your choice."**_Suddenly, it was apparent that the robot had been holding back and swiftly lashed out at Knuckles. The echidna succeeded at dodging the first arm, but the second came in and pinned him to the ice. Knuckles had no way to escape.

A sonic boom was heard in the distance and the robot looked up. Tails had arrived in the X Tornado 2 and was heading right for them.

While still holding Knuckles down, the robot stood up and readied itself.

In that brief moment, Tails knew where he recognized the two robots him and Nikki encountered earlier. They were both a part of this Elite…the same one that took him and his plane down three years ago.

_Not this time!_

Tails pushed up a lever on the control board and the X Tornado 2's wings glowed bright red, Chaos Energy surged through the outer edge of the wings. Tails tilted the plane slightly and one of the Chaos Wings cut right through the robot's arm that was holding Knuckles down. Tails swiftly turned the plane around for another go.

**"**_**Ah, I remember you…Tell me, how's your back?" **_There was venom laced in those words.

"Not as bad as what I'm about to do you if you don't let the echidna go!" Tails spoke over the intercom. Even though Tails had severed the arm that had Knuckles pinned to the ice, the arm still had a mind of it's own and was holding him in place.

Tails knew he was no match for an Elite on his own, but he had no choice at this point.

* * *

Back at the ice cave, Nikki looked outside of the cave mouth.

_Tails still hasn't come back yet…I hope he's okay._

Suddenly, the young hedgehog heard something in the wind around her.

_Something's wrong._

She then took off in the direction of the sound.

* * *

The sound that Nikki heard was the crash that came from X Tornado 2 as the robot managed to drive it into the ground. The robot lost it's other arm to the plane's Chaos Cannon, but it was worth the end result.

"_TAILS!" _Knuckles shouted as he tried to pry himself loose. _Not again…Chaos, not again…Come on…stupid thing move!_

The menacing Elite stood over the cockpit of the plane, it's foot placed firmly on it threatening to push it through the ice. _**"And you're supposed to be the great leader of the Freedom Fighters, what a joke."**_

Knuckles desperately tried to get free from the robot's severed hand. "Why you, when I get out of here-!"

_**"You'll what? From what I can see, you have no way of escaping."**_

Knuckles suddenly heard on his communicator, "Knux…I'm okay."

"You sure…" Knuckles answered back quietly. "Because the last time you said that, you ended up the hospital for two months."

"No, really…I'm fine."

_**"Well isn't this touching."**_

Knuckles' jaw dropped when he realized what just happened. "Wait, it can hear us?"

"It's not suppose to." Tails was equally shocked. This whole time, this thing could listen in on their communication calls and they didn't even know about it until now.

**"**_**Now, lets see…who should go first?"**_

Suddenly, a voice sounded from the top of the glacier. "Me!"

Everyone turned and looked in the direction the voice came from. There was Nikki standing at the top of the glacier.

_Nikki…_ Both Tails and Knuckles were shocked that the young hedgehog was there.

"Let them go!" The young hedgehog demanded.

**"**_**So, this is your reinforcements…a little girl, HAHAHAHA!"**_

Suddenly, the robot's scanner picked up a match in his data base. **"**_**Ah…Sonic's brat."**_

It then smiled at her deviously.** "**_**Alright kid, if you want me to let them go…all you have to do is fight me. Just you."**_

"I'll fight you, just let them go first!"

The robot's voice was enough to make someone's skin crawl. **"**_**No, they stay. I want your loved ones to see me **__**break**__** you."**_

"Fine then! Here I come!" Nikki ran down the side of the cliff at full speed.

**"**_**I never got the chance to fight your father myself! I hope you're at least close to his potential!"**_

Nikki smirked at him. "Don't worry, I wont disappoint you!"

She ran in and Spin Dashed toward the Elite robot.

**"**_**Heh! You don't think I know your old man's moves, kid?"**_

Suddenly, Nikki changed tactic in mid spin and in a split second she landed on the ground, extended her spikes on her arms and back and then jumped straight up. She scratched the robot right across the eyes, damaging it's right eye light. The blue blur kept going, not even daring to stop even for one second. Tails and Knuckles looked in amazement.

_She's hacking away at the one place she plans on striking next. If she keeps this up, she'll only need to drive one of her spikes into it's head only once and that will be it… _Tails then shouted for Nikki to hear. "You're doing great! Keep going!"

Hearing Tails' encouraging words, she moved faster.

_His armor is too thick to use the Spin Dash. I'll just use my spikes and cut._

She keeps going and then she noticed she broke through, she quickly jumped on the robot's head forcing it downward to prepare for the next strike. She then jumps off the robot's head and leaped into the air. The blue hedgehog quickly dove and spun as fast as she could. The robot looked up with his one good eye and noticed that Nikki was coming in at him.

Blood and oil both splatter into the air. Nikki had planned on hitting the robot with her spike, but the robot stood up throwing off her timing and she hit him with her head instead. The momentum sent her flying and she tried to catch herself, but the robot was coming in at her and then grabbed her right leg in his jaws. He started throwing her around like a rag doll.

As the robot pulled its head back, Nikki saw her opportunity and drove her right arm spike into the robot's head.

Realizing Nikki's plan, the robot threw her around harder, trying to shake her off. **"**_**You little shit! "**_

The spike she drove in slid back, tearing metal with it and at that same moment, a sickening crack is heard and Nikki gave a loud scream. After she flailed backward she came back up and then drove her other spike into the robot's skull. It shook her harder and then threw her to the ground, her head hit first. That was when Knuckles and Tails could see why Nikki screamed earlier, the robot had broken her leg.

"_NIKKI!"_

"No!"

They helplessly watched as the robot walked closer to the helpless girl and then grabbed her in its jaws. It then threw her into the air and repeatedly attacked her. It bit and released her again and again, keeping her in the air. Then it bit her one last time holding her in his jaws.

**"**_**Now watch your last hero die!"**_

It then threw her to the side and she rolled several feet away like a rag doll. She didn't move, the poor girl was completely covered in her own blood and a puddle of red crimson was staining the snow beneath her.

"_No! You Bastard!" _Knuckles pushed and struggled to get free, but the Elite's severed arm just pushed him deeper into the ice with incredible force. Suddenly the wind picked up around the area. Everyone fell silent as they heard something in the wind.

"…_I…I'm not done yet…"_

The young hedgehog struggled to stand on her feet, blood was still dripping to the ground as she stood up. She stared at the Elite with defiance and determination, her emerald eyes gleaming.

Knuckles couldn't believe his eyes. _Seriously? How does she do that?_

The Elite turned to the young hedgehog. **"**_**You look done to me."**_

She then smirked. "Looks can be deceiving, junk heap."

Nikki dashed forward as fast as her injuries would allow. "Don't _ever_ underestimate me!"

She then spun as fast as she could. The robot saw her coming and dodged her. She was still spinning and flew right past him.

Knuckles growled under his breath. _Damn! She missed!_

Suddenly, the wind picked up again and Nikki's voice carried in it, making it difficult for the robot to pinpoint exactly where she was going to strike. _"Dodge this!"_

Nikki used the wind to her advantage and turned back in the robot's direction. She extended her spikes and turned herself into a living chainsaw.

The robot found where she was coming from, only to see her already in front of him. She dug her arm spikes into its skull and the robot short circuited. She then allowed herself continue spinning to get out of the way of the coming blast. The blast came sooner than expected and blew into the young hedgehog with incredible force. As soon as she hit the snow covered ice, she tried to catch herself, but ended up painfully barrel rolling several times because of the momentum. The rag doll came to a stop mere yards away.

Debris from the robot rained down in every direction, the precious light blue Chaos Emerald fell onto the snow covered ice. With the robot destroyed, the arm that was holding down Knuckles had shut down as well. As soon as it powered down, Knuckles pushed the mechanical arm aside.

Tails noticed that Knuckles was free and turned on his communicator. "Knux, go help Nikki first. I'll get myself out."

Knuckles nodded and then rushed toward the Chaos Emerald. He scooped it up and then skidded to a stop next to the injured hedgehog. The echidna wasted no time and began healing her.

In the meantime, Tails was trying to override the controls so that he could open the cockpit, but nothing was responding. The control panel was damaged in the attack and now threatened to spark and catch flame. And the worst part was the cockpit was already filling up with smoke. Tails pulled his scarf up over his mouth and nose to try and filter out the air. Frustrated the fox tried kicking out the glass dome, but it didn't budge.

The energy from the Chaos Emerald flooded Nikki's system. Open wounds healed and broken bones snapped back into place.

Tails was really in trouble, but he didn't want Knuckles to stop healing Nikki to help him. He quickly changed tactic and spun his namesakes, the lights on Tails' vest glowed through the smoke. He then tried to saw his way out of the cockpit.

_Come on…just a little more…_

It was getting harder for Tails to breath, but he kept going. Suddenly, the glass dome gave way and Tails fell out of the cockpit.

Knuckles noticed this and looked back toward the plane. "Tails! You alright?"

Tails coughed, "Yeah…I'm good!"

It actually didn't take as long as Knuckles expected to heal Nikki. Just after Tails answered his question, the young hedgehog sat up and then jumped to her feet…nearly knocking the echidna off of his own feet. "What the-?"

Tails laughed at the sight of this.

Nikki gave Knuckles a slightly confused look, "You…alright Knux?"

_That's incredible…I didn't even use half of the Chaos Emerald's power…and she's completely healed…_

"Um, hello? Mobius to Knux." Nikki crossed her arms. _Maybe he hit his head or something._

Knuckles finally noticed Nikki's confused expression. "What?"

"Oh nothing." She smirked when she realized the echidna was more than fine. She then looked over and saw Tails by the X Tornado 2's cockpit and dashed toward him.

She knelt down. "Tails?"

"No worries, I'm fine." Tails reassured her.

Knuckles walked over and looked behind Tails toward the mangled plane. "So…now how do we get back?"

Tails looked toward the plane as well. "Yeah, that's a good question. I mean, I could fix the plane, but I don't have the right parts out here in the middle of nowhere to get it running."

"So, we're screwed." Knuckles said with a nod.

Suddenly the wind picked up from something hovering several feet above them. They look up and can see the X Hurricane blocking the sun.

"It's Cream!" Tails yelled over the roaring wind.

"I take it back…_now_ we're screwed!" Knuckles said as he dug his shoes into the ice for support.

The massive cargo plane hovered for a moment and then landed on top of the ocean. The plane could've easily been mistaken for a cruise liner. A ramp stretched down to the ice and the door opened on the side of the plane.

Cream ran out and met the others, "Are you guys okay?"

"Don't worry, it's all good." Knuckles answered first.

Cream looked at Nikki, "Really?"

"Yeah, everything's fine." The young hedgehog reassured.

The rabbit crossed her arms. "Is that blood all over your clothes?"

It was true, even though Nikki was completely healed, her clothes were still stained with blood and robot oil. Nikki froze up for a minute, _Crap!_ She then answered. "Not…completely."

_Yep we're dead. _Knuckles thought to himself.

Cream then turned to the boys and yelled, "How the hell could you two let this happen? She could've been killed! What were you thinking?"

Nikki's eyes widened as she saw Tails' and Knuckles' cringe at Cream's fury.

Knuckles recovered first. "It wasn't like we planned for the stupid Elite to show up!"

Tails shook his head at Knuckles' response. _Oh boy, this might take a while…_

* * *

The Freedom Fighters finally make it back to base. Tails and Nikki had actually slept the trip back, so they weren't tired by the time they got back.

The next day, training began as usual…only Knuckles had heard about Nikki's near drowning experience and he was afraid that this might have an effect on Nikki's swimming ability.

"Knux, this is ridiculous. I'm not-"

"Just dive in." Knuckles demanded.

Nikki let out a huge drawn out sigh and then ran toward a boulder that was just high enough for Nikki to dive off of. Without hesitation, she gracefully jumped up and dove into the water. She then did a lap to prove she had no trouble being in the water and came up for a breath. "There, happy?"

Knuckles nodded. "Very." _Thank Mobius. That experience didn't affect her. If it had, we could've lost a major advantage._

He then motioned for Nikki to come back to dry land. "Come on in, there's something important we need to talk about."

The young hedgehog ran out of the water with no trouble and shook the water off of her quills. She then looked at Knuckles curiously. "What is it?"

The echidna reached into his quills and took out a small green crystal tied to a necklace. "This…is for you."

"This isn't what I think it is…" Nikki looked at the green crystal.

"No, it's not a piece of the Master Emerald…It's a piece of a Chaos Emerald."

Nikki instantly jumped back. "What? You mean you broke a Chaos Emerald?"

"Um yeah, a really long time ago. What's the issue?"

"Didn't the legend say if you break a Chaos Emerald, that it'll destroy the universe or something?"

"Not if it's broken by the Master Emerald Guardian. You see, back when we were fight against Eggman, I not only had to break the Master Emerald to keep it safe I had to do the same with the remaining Chaos Emeralds we had as well."

"Please tell me you didn't break the one we just found."

"No."

Nikki sighed with relief. But then had to ask… "So…how many did you break?"

"Two."

Seeing Nikki's eyes widen, Knuckles quickly stated. "But I can fix them if need be…and only I know where the pieces are located."

Nikki gently took the necklace from Knuckles' hand and then looked at him.

"And you're giving a piece of a Chaos Emerald to me, because?"

"Because I believe that you will find a way to use it. And it's not just me, both Tails and Charles both agree."

The young hedgehog looked back at the glowing crystal. She then placed it around her neck.

* * *

Author's Note: Ooo. Nikki has a sparkly lol. Sorry, I couldn't resist. :)

Well, that's it for Volume 1, but don't worry, this story is far from over lol.

Hmm? I wonder how Trace is doing? Secrets will be revealed in Sonic's Legacy: Volume 2; Genesis Rising.

And it's up and on my profile, Enjoy :D

To see updates…check profile :)


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